girl's name
Violette
vee-o-LET
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 32,044
the United States
#894
2025 births
Violette is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "violet," and in France it belongs to an agent executed at Ravensbrück at twenty-three. It ranks 180th in France and is falling in our data.
- Violette is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2012, when 455 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,871 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 3.
Violette over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 940 |
| 1910s | 1,450 |
| 1920s | 2,600 |
| 1930s | 2,585 |
| 1940s | 2,095 |
| 1950s | 3,035 |
| 1960s | 1,410 |
| 1970s | 615 |
| 1980s | 855 |
| 1990s | 1,145 |
| 2000s | 3,075 |
| 2010s | 3,095 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,455 |
What Violette means
Violette means violet, the flower, from the Latin viola with a French diminutive ending. The color is named after the flower rather than the other way round, so the name is the plant first.
Where Violette comes from
Violette is the French for the violet, from the Latin viola with the diminutive -ette. The flower has stood for modesty and humility in European symbolism since the Middle Ages, and Napoleon took it as his emblem — his supporters called him Caporal Violette and wore the flower to signal loyalty during his exile, on the promise that he would return with the violets in spring. He did. The name's modern French weight is Violette Szabo, the Anglo-French SOE agent captured in 1944, tortured and shot at Ravensbrück in early 1945 at twenty-three; she was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Viola, Violet, Yolanda and Iolanthe all descend from the same Latin flower by different routes.
Violette in use
Violette ranks 180th in France with about 315 births in 2025 and is falling in our data with a peak in 2012. Our records carry it from 1900. It holds 894th in the United States and 2,123rd in England and Wales, where the English Violet carries the demand instead and is counted separately.
How popular is Violette?
In 2025, Violette was given to 315 babies in France, ranking #180 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Violette is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Violette
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Violette also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Violette over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Violette 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.
Sibling names for Violette
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Violette — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Violette
What does the name Violette mean?
Violette means "violet," from the Latin viola — the flower, which the color is named after.
Who was Violette Szabo?
An SOE agent captured in 1944 and shot at Ravensbrück at twenty-three, posthumously awarded the George Cross.
Why was the violet Napoleon's emblem?
His supporters wore it during his exile on the promise he would return with the violets in spring.
How popular is Violette?
180th in France and 894th in the United States.
Is Violette a girl's or a boy's name?
Violette is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Violette?
Violette has 3 syllables.
Is Violette a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Violette currently ranks #180 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.