Iola
Feminine · “violet”
Iola is a violet, in Greek — and it is also a figure from the Heracles legend, and a small town in Kansas. Nineteenth-century American families used all three routes without recording which.
How old is the name Iola?
Iola was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Iola alive today was born around 1920, making them about 105 years old. About 1,600 people named Iola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Iola most popular?
Iola peaked in 1907, reaching #264 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 11,668 places below that high. See the whole 1907 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ion to Iola
The story of Iola
Greek vocabulary and Greek myth were both fashionable in nineteenth-century American naming, and the -ola ending was fashionable independently. Iola sits at the intersection: it appears in the registers from the 1870s alongside Viola, Leola and Ola, peaking around 1890. A Kansas town founded in the 1850s carries the name too, which kept it visible in the Midwest.
Meaningscholars disagree
violet
The usual reading is the Greek ion, 'violet', which also lies behind Iolanthe and Yolanda. The Greek Iole of the Heracles story carries the same element. A third route is simply the -ola ending of Viola, Leola and Ola, which was highly productive in nineteenth-century American naming and needs no Greek at all.
How the name formed
- ion
- Iole
- Iola
Related forms: Ἰόλη · Viola · Iolanda
Pronouncing Iola
eye-OH-luh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Some families said YOH-luh with two; both are recorded.
Nicknames for Iola
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1918368 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #264reached in 1907
- Change vs 2022
- −22.2%7 in 2025, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Iola in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ἰόλη in Greek — related form
- Viola in English — related form
- Iolanda in Italian — related form
Iolas among us
people named Iola are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Iola
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Iola sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Iola beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Iola in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The violet reading is concrete and attractive, and the Greek element is genuine.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- Io and Ola are both available and are very different in feel.
- The origin is split between a Greek word, a Greek figure and an American ending.
- Two pronunciations are recorded in American use.
- It is strongly period-coded to the late nineteenth century.
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Iola
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Iolas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Iola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Iola in 2025?
- Iola ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Iola?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Iola — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Iola with classmates?
- Iola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Iola
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932 · Gracia#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iola? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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