Find out how popular the last name Violette is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Violette.

Violette, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Violette surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Violette in America

Violette is the 9529th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Violette surname appeared 3,411 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Violette.

We can also compare 2010 data for Violette to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Violette

The surname Violette is of French origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "violette," meaning "violet," which was used as a nickname for someone with violet-colored eyes or someone who cultivated or sold violets.

In the 12th century, the spelling of the name was recorded as "Violete" in the ancient records of Normandy, France. It is believed that the name may have originated in this region, where the cultivation of violets was common.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the 13th-century Cartulaire de Redon, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the Abbey of Redon in Brittany, France. Here, the name appears as "Violete" in reference to a landowner.

During the 14th century, the name was also mentioned in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and wealth in England. This suggests that the name was carried to England by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066.

In the 15th century, the name appears in various records in the form of "Viollette" and "Viollet." One notable bearer of the name was Jean Violette (c. 1440-1500), a French composer and music theorist who served as the master of the choirboys at the Cathedral of Cambrai.

Another prominent figure with the surname Violette was François Violette (1672-1731), a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Louis-en-l'Île and the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).

In the 18th century, the name was found in the form "Viollet" in the records of the Huguenot refugees who fled religious persecution in France and settled in various parts of Europe and America.

One notable bearer of the name from this era was Pierre Viollet (1714-1799), a French architect and urban planner who was responsible for the design of numerous buildings and urban developments in Paris.

In the 19th century, the name was recorded in various forms, including "Violette," "Viollet," and "Viollette." One notable figure with this surname was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879), a French architect and author who was a prominent figure in the Gothic Revival movement and restored many historic buildings in France.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Violette

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Violette.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Violette was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Violette has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Violette was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Violette, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!