Viola
Viola was given to 247 girls in 2025, #1,015 among girls’ names; 133,427 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 20,700 Americans named Viola and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (16% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 47 and 82.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Viola by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Viola mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Viola is “a female given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “violet” (viola).
From Latin viola (“violet”).
/vaɪˈəʊlə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Viola?
#1,015 among girls’ names, 2025
Viola rose from #1,274 in 2015 to #1,015 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.11 to 0.15 per 1,000.
4,342 babies in 1918, the peak
Viola peaked in 1918, when 4,342 babies were given it (4,331 girls, #59 among girls’ names). The 247 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 247 | #1,015 | 0.15 |
| 2024 | 202 | #1,186 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 233 | #1,069 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 249 | #1,031 | 0.15 |
| 2021 | 210 | #1,168 | 0.13 |
| 2020 | 216 | #1,119 | 0.13 |
| 2019 | 234 | #1,078 | 0.14 |
| 2018 | 214 | #1,144 | 0.13 |
| 2017 | 212 | #1,164 | 0.12 |
| 2016 | 223 | #1,139 | 0.13 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 192 | #1,274 | 0.11 |
| 2014 | 194 | #1,252 | 0.11 |
| 2013 | 181 | #1,300 | 0.10 |
| 2012 | 169 | #1,383 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 135 | #1,611 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 117 | #1,768 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 116 | #1,847 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 97 | #2,105 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 101 | #2,033 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 99 | #2,015 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 61 | #2,750 | 0.03 |
| 2004 | 53 | #2,990 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 60 | #2,669 | 0.03 |
| 2002 | 58 | #2,668 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 44 | #3,191 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 45 | #3,114 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 52 | #2,697 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 43 | #3,007 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 44 | #2,816 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 47 | #2,667 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 41 | #2,925 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 44 | #2,791 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 50 | #2,527 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 49 | #2,570 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 60 | #2,208 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 58 | #2,228 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 63 | #2,021 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 71 | #1,785 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 71 | #1,718 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 59 | #1,908 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 64 | #1,781 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 84 | #1,396 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 75 | #1,521 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 87 | #1,415 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 84 | #1,454 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 106 | #1,242 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 86 | #1,430 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 62 | #1,706 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 84 | #1,357 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 99 | #1,166 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 88 | #1,276 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 117 | #1,032 | 0.08 |
| 1973 | 113 | #1,037 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 128 | #957 | 0.08 |
| 1971 | 130 | #979 | 0.08 |
| 1970 | 151 | #883 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 139 | #896 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 163 | #788 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 204 | #679 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 205 | #682 | 0.12 |
| 1965 | 250 | #617 | 0.14 |
| 1964 | 294 | #576 | 0.16 |
| 1963 | 308 | #556 | 0.16 |
| 1962 | 320 | #548 | 0.16 |
| 1961 | 421 | #475 | 0.21 |
| 1960 | 428 | #474 | 0.21 |
| 1959 | 407 | #481 | 0.20 |
| 1958 | 452 | #448 | 0.22 |
| 1957 | 448 | #444 | 0.22 |
| 1956 | 528 | #389 | 0.26 |
| 1955 | 512 | #386 | 0.26 |
| 1954 | 574 | #361 | 0.30 |
| 1953 | 571 | #356 | 0.30 |
| 1952 | 634 | #322 | 0.34 |
| 1951 | 636 | #313 | 0.35 |
| 1950 | 624 | #311 | 0.36 |
| 1949 | 685 | #296 | 0.40 |
| 1948 | 724 | #284 | 0.43 |
| 1947 | 813 | #270 | 0.46 |
| 1946 | 781 | #257 | 0.50 |
| 1945 | 765 | #242 | 0.59 |
| 1944 | 800 | #234 | 0.60 |
| 1943 | 893 | #220 | 0.64 |
| 1942 | 941 | #213 | 0.70 |
| 1941 | 901 | #202 | 0.75 |
| 1940 | 966 | #190 | 0.84 |
| 1939 | 980 | #187 | 0.89 |
| 1938 | 1,040 | #187 | 0.94 |
| 1937 | 1,158 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 1936 | 1,188 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 1935 | 1,325 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1934 | 1,435 | #142 | 1.4 |
| 1933 | 1,478 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 1932 | 1,668 | #136 | 1.6 |
| 1931 | 1,823 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 1930 | 2,161 | #116 | 1.9 |
| 1929 | 2,291 | #109 | 2.1 |
| 1928 | 2,623 | #103 | 2.3 |
| 1927 | 2,769 | #101 | 2.3 |
| 1926 | 2,876 | #97 | 2.4 |
| 1925 | 3,336 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1924 | 3,577 | #82 | 2.9 |
| 1923 | 3,534 | #79 | 2.9 |
| 1922 | 3,793 | #72 | 3.2 |
| 1921 | 4,160 | #66 | 3.4 |
| 1920 | 4,292 | #59 | 3.6 |
| 1919 | 4,129 | #58 | 3.7 |
| 1918 | 4,331 | #59 | 3.7 |
| 1917 | 4,040 | #59 | 3.7 |
| 1916 | 3,948 | #59 | 3.8 |
| 1915 | 3,855 | #59 | 3.9 |
| 1914 | 3,203 | #57 | 4.2 |
| 1913 | 2,847 | #52 | 4.6 |
| 1912 | 2,550 | #52 | 4.6 |
| 1911 | 2,083 | #47 | 5.0 |
| 1910 | 2,090 | #48 | 5.3 |
| 1909 | 1,926 | #46 | 5.5 |
| 1908 | 1,964 | #42 | 5.9 |
| 1907 | 1,805 | #47 | 5.7 |
| 1906 | 1,675 | #47 | 5.7 |
| 1905 | 1,697 | #44 | 5.8 |
| 1904 | 1,545 | #46 | 5.6 |
| 1903 | 1,495 | #44 | 5.7 |
| 1902 | 1,447 | #48 | 5.5 |
| 1901 | 1,331 | #47 | 5.6 |
| 1900 | 1,674 | #49 | 5.6 |
| 1899 | 1,156 | #50 | 5.0 |
| 1898 | 1,272 | #53 | 4.9 |
| 1897 | 1,017 | #58 | 4.3 |
| 1896 | 1,047 | #62 | 4.4 |
| 1895 | 1,010 | #63 | 4.3 |
| 1894 | 906 | #65 | 4.1 |
| 1893 | 839 | #66 | 3.9 |
| 1892 | 833 | #66 | 3.9 |
| 1891 | 609 | #73 | 3.3 |
| 1890 | 697 | #68 | 3.7 |
| 1889 | 536 | #76 | 3.0 |
| 1888 | 596 | #74 | 3.3 |
| 1887 | 420 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 1886 | 440 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 1885 | 345 | #88 | 2.6 |
| 1884 | 362 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1883 | 331 | #83 | 2.9 |
| 1882 | 310 | #83 | 2.9 |
| 1881 | 237 | #92 | 2.6 |
| 1880 | 229 | #94 | 2.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Viola a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Viola has been given almost only to girls: 434 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Viola: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Viola, and how old are they?
20,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 16% of the 133,427 Americans ever recorded as Viola. The median Viola alive today is 71 years old; half are between 47 and 82.
The 2020 Census counted 24,135 people named Viola (24,084 women and girls, 51 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 26,638 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 5,730 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,660 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,960 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 977 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,280 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,790 |
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 Viola born?
The states with the most babies named Viola are New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 6,489 | #1,084 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 6,126 | #723 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 5,893 | #1,458 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 4,194 | #956 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 4,160 | #1,393 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 3,747 | #1,269 | 1.0× |
| South Carolina | 3,537 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Michigan | 3,431 | #587 | 0.9× |
| Virginia | 3,211 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Missouri | 3,149 | #586 | 1.1× |
Where Viola is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Viola is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 Viola 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 134,988 babies since 1880, Viola is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 247 of their 279 babies (89%), again the most given.
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 Viola
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 Viola and names like it
- Compare Viola and VillaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sViola peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Viola since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Viola: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Viola.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Viola alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with VMost given first.