Yolande
A feminine name of Old German origin meaning "violet".
Name Census estimates that about 761 living Americans carry the first name Yolande. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yolande today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yolande births was 1970 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yolande. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yolande with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
761
~ 1 in 450,400 Americans
Peak year
1970
40 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1997 SSA rank
#16,119
Tracked since 1902
Census
Yolande in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,512 people with the first name Yolande, which placed it at #6,400 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,400
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,512 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yolande
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yolande is Black at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Yolande described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Yolande at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.4% · 1,491
- White30.9% · 777
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 97
- Two or more races3.7% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Yolande: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yolande from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 288 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yolande by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Yolande during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yolandes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Louisiana, New York, Maine recorded the most babies named Yolande, while Vermont, New Hampshire, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yolande
The name Yolande has its origins in the Medieval French language and culture. It is a French variant of the Germanic name Yolanda, derived from the Old Germanic elements "io" meaning violet flower and "lant" meaning land or territory. This name likely emerged during the 12th or 13th century in parts of what is now modern-day France.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Yolande was Yolande of Aragon, Countess of Montferrat, who lived from around 1384 to 1442. She was a member of the House of Barcelona and played a significant role in the political and military affairs of her time.
Another notable historical figure was Yolande of Anjou (1412-1440), who served as the Duchess of Anjou and Queen of Sicily. She was a prominent figure in the Hundred Years' War and was respected for her political acumen and influence.
In the 15th century, Yolande of Valois (1434-1478) was a French princess who served as the Duchess of Savoy and Duchess of Milan. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her role in the Renaissance cultural movement.
During the 16th century, Yolande de Montbel (1549-1607) was a French noblewoman and author. She is remembered for her writings on religious and spiritual matters, which gained widespread recognition during her lifetime.
Another notable bearer of the name was Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron (1749-1793), a French courtier and confidante of Marie Antoinette. She played a significant role in the social and political circles of the French court during the turbulent years leading up to the French Revolution.
While the name Yolande was once more commonly used in parts of Europe, particularly in France and surrounding regions, it has become less prevalent in modern times. However, its historical significance and connection to notable figures from various eras continue to make it a unique and intriguing name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Yolande + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yolande as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yolande: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yolande?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 761 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yolande going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 450,400 US residents.
Is Yolande a common name?
We classify Yolande as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,620 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yolande most popular?
The single biggest year for Yolande was 1970, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yolande is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yolande in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,512 people with the name Yolande, or 0.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,400 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Yolande in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Yolande?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yolande appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,505 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Yolande?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yolande is Black at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Yolande most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Yolande in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (1,491 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Yolande in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yolande a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yolande in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Yolande still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yolande in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Yolande can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Yolande?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.