Given name
Iola
“of the violet-colored dawn”
Iola is used as a given name. One Greek interpretation is “of the violet-colored dawn.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “of the violet-colored dawn.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Iola through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,659
- 0 boys · 9,659 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 368 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #12,412 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,412 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 368 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,797 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Iola’s family of names
Iola has a related form in Iole. Iola has a related form in Inola. Iola has a related form in Inolah.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Inolavariant
- Iolevariant
- Inollahvariant
- Inollavariant
- Inolahvariant
- Iollevariant
- Iollahvariant
- Iollavariant
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Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Iola
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Iola, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Iona
“woman from the island”
1% boys · 99% girls
Ione
“resembling the violet flower”
>99% girls
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Theola
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“a wellborn woman” · “a wellborn man”
>99% girls
Lilla
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>99% girls
Philomena
“a friend of strength”
>99% girls
Marjory
Marjory is a feminine given name from Ancient Greek.
>99% girls