girl's name
Viola
vy-OH-luh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 134,620
Scotland
#563
2018 births
Viola means violet, and it names the flower, the instrument and a Shakespeare heroine from the same Latin root. Our data marks it reviving, at 1014th in the United States and 1072nd in England and Wales.
- Viola is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 4,342 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 13,422 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Viola over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,811 |
| 1890s | 9,398 |
| 1900s | 16,623 |
| 1910s | 33,157 |
| 1920s | 33,396 |
| 1930s | 14,345 |
| 1940s | 8,307 |
| 1950s | 5,386 |
| 1960s | 2,732 |
| 1970s | 1,058 |
| 1980s | 764 |
| 1990s | 488 |
| 2000s | 734 |
| 2010s | 1,871 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,357 |
What Viola means
Viola means violet. The Latin viola is the ordinary word for the flower itself, and the name uses it unchanged rather than deriving a quality from it.
Where Viola comes from
Viola is the Latin for a violet, and the flower's own name in English descends from the same word through French. The musical instrument is separate: that viola comes from a Romance root for a stringed instrument, related to fiddle and violin, and the two words converged in spelling by accident. Shakespeare's Viola in Twelfth Night spends most of the play disguised as a boy named Cesario, which makes her one of the roles originally played by a boy playing a woman playing a boy.
Viola in use
Viola peaked in the United States in 1918, when 4,342 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It charts in three of the seven markets we track — 1014th in the United States on 247 births, 1019th in Canada and 1072nd in England and Wales on 32, within 58 places of each other — across 134,620 lifetime births. Its 1918 peak places it with Pearl, Myrtle, Lester and Elmer in the 1918 to 1921 band, several of which are also reviving.
How popular is Viola?
In 2025, Viola was given to 247 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Viola is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Viola
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Viola also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Viola over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Viola
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Viola in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Turkish
- Violet
Sibling names for Viola
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Viola — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Viola
What does the name Viola mean?
Violet — the Latin word for the flower, used unchanged.
Is the name related to the instrument?
No. That viola comes from a Romance root for a stringed instrument, related to violin. The two converged by accident.
Is Viola from Shakespeare?
The name predates him, but his Twelfth Night heroine is its best-known bearer.
Is Viola coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, at 1014th in the United States.
How popular is the name Viola?
In 2025, Viola was given to 247 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Viola a girl's or a boy's name?
Viola is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Viola?
Viola has 3 syllables.
When was Viola most popular?
Viola peaked in 1918, when 4,342 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Viola?
Viola is usually shortened to Vi.
Is Viola a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Viola currently ranks #1,014 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.