Given name & surname
Lola
“tulip”
Lola is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “tulip.”
Original SpanishDolores
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “tulip.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Spanish.
How it developed
Lola is used as a form of Dolores.
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. In Swedish use, Lola is an affectionate form of Viola. The history of Viola gives this family its wider story. Shakespeare used Viola for the heroine of Twelfth Night. Viola’s Latin flower meaning and its later association with the English flower name both form part of its appeal and naming history.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Lola through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 97,167
- 275 boys · 96,892 girls
- Most popular year
- 1919
- 1,623 babies
- 2025
- 1,132
- #275 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,132 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 275 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 11.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,617 in 1919. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (109). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 41,482 as a first name in 2020; 307 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lola’s family of names
In Spanish usage, Lola is a diminutive of Dolores. Lola has a related form in Lolita. Lola is an affectionate form of Dolores.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lola has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lola
- Lola PagnaniItalian actressborn 1972
- Lola MontezIrish dancer and actress (1821–1861)
- Lola AlbrightAmerican actress and singer (1924–2017)
- Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of PombalPortuguese noble and diplomat (1699–1782)
- Lola DueñasSpanish actressborn 1971
- Lola GlaudiniAmerican actressborn 1971
- Lola AngladaSpanish writer, comics artist and illustrator (1892-1984)1891–1984
- Lola YoungBritish singer-songwriter (born 2001)
- Lola FalanaAmerican singer, dancer, and actressborn 1942
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lola, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Verona
“woman from Verona”
>99% girls
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“night” · “a beauty of the night; born at nightfall”
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“one who is illuminated”
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Lorenza
Lorenza is a feminine given name. It is used in Spanish and Italian.
5% boys · 95% girls
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“having divine protection”
>99% girls