Reola
Feminine
Reola is a name from the early American record, and it shares its ending with a remarkable number of things that were being sold at the same moment. The ending was in the air, and it came from a machine that played the piano by itself.
How old is the name Reola?
Reola first appears in US birth records in 1903 — 122 years ago. The typical Reola alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 200 people named Reola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reola most popular?
Reola peaked in 1927, reaching #1423 nationally. See the whole 1927 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Reola
At the turn of the twentieth century an American company sold a device that played a piano from a punched paper roll and called it the Pianola. It was enormously successful, and the ending came loose from it. Within a few years there was a Victrola playing records, a Crayola in every schoolroom, a Shinola on every boot and a Granola in the pantry. The suffix meant nothing at all; it simply sounded modern, manufactured and cheerful, which was exactly what a product wanted to sound like in those years. Names took it up too. Reola belongs to that moment as much as it belongs to any family tradition, and the name and the century arrived together.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source has been documented. Reola appears in the American record without an explanation and without a clear parent name, which is common for names of its period and shape.
Pronouncing Reola
ree-OH-luh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. Nobody has much trouble with it on sight.
Nicknames for Reola
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
- 1903
- Most girls named
- 192732 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1423reached in 1927
- Change vs 1961
- 0.0%6 in 1962, from 6
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.
Reolas among us
people named Reola are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Reola sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Three open syllables and no difficult consonants make it easy to say and easy to hear.
- Ola and Ree are both available as short forms without any work.
- It has a real place in the American record going back to the early years of the statistics.
- It reads as a name of an older generation in America, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
- No origin is documented, so the meaning question has nothing to answer with.
- It will be heard as Viola or Leola and written accordingly.
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Reola
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Reolas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Reola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reola in 2025?
- Reola is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Reola with classmates?
- Reola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reola? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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