Iola
Iola was given to 7 girls in 2025, #12,408 among girls’ names; 9,659 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,450 Americans named Iola and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (15% of everyone recorded); the median is 76 years old and half are between 64 and 86.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Iola by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Iola mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Iola is “a female given name.” Its etymology gives the sense “violet” (ἴον).
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”), evoking the flower’s symbolism of modesty and beauty.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Iola?
#12,408 among girls’ names, 2025
Iola fell from #9,730 in 2015 to #12,408 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 6.2 to 4.4 per million.
368 babies in 1918, the peak
Iola peaked in 1918, when 368 girls were given it, #339 among girls’ names. The 7 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #12,408 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 8 | #11,501 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,647 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 9 | #10,706 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 11 | #9,190 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 11 | #9,173 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 5 | #16,478 | under 0.01 |
| 2017 | 16 | #7,217 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 11 | #9,665 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 11 | #9,730 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (124)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 7 | #13,620 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 6 | #15,339 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 7 | #14,046 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 9 | #11,542 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 6 | #15,697 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 5 | #18,583 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 7 | #14,481 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 7 | #14,134 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 6 | #11,347 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 8 | #8,002 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,346 | under 0.01 |
| 1982 | 5 | #11,107 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 9 | #6,996 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,958 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 12 | #5,535 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,931 | under 0.01 |
| 1977 | 8 | #7,118 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,830 | under 0.01 |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,732 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 12 | #4,822 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 9 | #5,731 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 7 | #6,810 | under 0.01 |
| 1971 | 5 | #8,784 | under 0.01 |
| 1970 | 7 | #6,590 | under 0.01 |
| 1969 | 5 | #7,893 | under 0.01 |
| 1968 | 5 | #7,422 | under 0.01 |
| 1967 | 15 | #3,389 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 16 | #3,189 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 21 | #2,698 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 16 | #3,294 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 13 | #3,692 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 23 | #2,560 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 24 | #2,493 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 26 | #2,327 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 34 | #1,934 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 19 | #2,697 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 37 | #1,796 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 41 | #1,667 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 45 | #1,522 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 44 | #1,521 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 41 | #1,536 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 65 | #1,179 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 49 | #1,331 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 62 | #1,175 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 57 | #1,201 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 59 | #1,177 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 58 | #1,187 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 55 | #1,154 | 0.04 |
| 1945 | 83 | #826 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 61 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 67 | #970 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 78 | #876 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 81 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 93 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 95 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1938 | 114 | #643 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 99 | #685 | 0.09 |
| 1936 | 120 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 152 | #520 | 0.14 |
| 1934 | 123 | #589 | 0.12 |
| 1933 | 148 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1932 | 168 | #505 | 0.16 |
| 1931 | 164 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 184 | #492 | 0.16 |
| 1929 | 202 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1928 | 224 | #461 | 0.19 |
| 1927 | 228 | #463 | 0.19 |
| 1926 | 221 | #466 | 0.19 |
| 1925 | 250 | #437 | 0.21 |
| 1924 | 272 | #427 | 0.22 |
| 1923 | 229 | #452 | 0.19 |
| 1922 | 297 | #378 | 0.25 |
| 1921 | 296 | #388 | 0.24 |
| 1920 | 327 | #363 | 0.27 |
| 1919 | 268 | #395 | 0.24 |
| 1918 | 368 | #339 | 0.32 |
| 1917 | 303 | #359 | 0.28 |
| 1916 | 317 | #347 | 0.30 |
| 1915 | 289 | #350 | 0.29 |
| 1914 | 283 | #311 | 0.37 |
| 1913 | 216 | #327 | 0.35 |
| 1912 | 181 | #343 | 0.32 |
| 1911 | 125 | #357 | 0.30 |
| 1910 | 175 | #294 | 0.44 |
| 1909 | 162 | #280 | 0.47 |
| 1908 | 156 | #280 | 0.47 |
| 1907 | 169 | #265 | 0.53 |
| 1906 | 78 | #389 | 0.26 |
| 1905 | 80 | #378 | 0.27 |
| 1904 | 61 | #416 | 0.22 |
| 1903 | 68 | #384 | 0.26 |
| 1902 | 52 | #430 | 0.20 |
| 1901 | 56 | #392 | 0.23 |
| 1900 | 71 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1899 | 46 | #430 | 0.20 |
| 1898 | 67 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1897 | 53 | #400 | 0.23 |
| 1896 | 49 | #411 | 0.21 |
| 1895 | 48 | #405 | 0.21 |
| 1894 | 44 | #420 | 0.20 |
| 1893 | 44 | #404 | 0.21 |
| 1892 | 54 | #362 | 0.25 |
| 1891 | 36 | #416 | 0.19 |
| 1890 | 30 | #479 | 0.16 |
| 1889 | 38 | #395 | 0.21 |
| 1888 | 45 | #358 | 0.25 |
| 1887 | 26 | #438 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 21 | #484 | 0.15 |
| 1885 | 20 | #475 | 0.15 |
| 1884 | 25 | #402 | 0.19 |
| 1883 | 13 | #552 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 16 | #467 | 0.15 |
| 1881 | 14 | #458 | 0.15 |
| 1880 | 15 | #439 | 0.16 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Iola a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Iola has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 124 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Iola: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Iola, and how old are they?
1,450 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 15% of the 9,659 Americans ever recorded as Iola. The median Iola alive today is 76 years old; half are between 64 and 86.
The 2020 Census counted 1,797 people named Iola (1,791 women and girls, 6 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,018 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 530 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 574 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 135 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 34 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 41 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 110 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Iola born?
The states with the most babies named Iola are Alabama, North Carolina and Texas, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 435 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| North Carolina | 367 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Texas | 334 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Mississippi | 304 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Illinois | 296 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Iowa | 294 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| South Carolina | 270 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Louisiana | 247 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Arkansas | 236 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Georgia | 223 | not ranked | 0.8× |
Where Iola is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Iola is most over-represented in Nebraska: since 1910 it was given 2.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Iola with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 45,263 babies since 1880, Iola is the second most given (21% of them). In 2025 it was given to 7 of their 1,181 babies (<1%), the eighth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Iola
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Iola and names like it
- Compare Iola and IlaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sIola peaked in 1918.
- Alabama’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Iola since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Iola.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Iola alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with IMost given first.