Girl's name
Violet
Say it VY-uh-lit
English origin violet (flower)
3 syllables
Where Violet is loved, common and rare
Loved in South Australia, Queensland and one more place. Common across Ontario, British Columbia, England and Wales and four more places. Rare in Northern Ireland, Ireland, Quebec and four more places.
1 in 239 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
Ontario 11thBritish Columbia 20thEngland and Wales 37th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 17 of the 40 official lists, among them Ontario (11th), British Columbia (20th) and England and Wales (37th).
Show all 17 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia state | 7th 2025 | 69 | rank only |
| Queensland state | 8th 2025 | 194 | rank only |
| Ontario province | 11th 2024 | 345 | about 1 in 158 |
| Victoria state | 15th 2025 | 212 | rank only |
| New South Wales state | 20th 2025 | 196 | rank only |
| British Columbia province | 20th 2023 | 75 | about 1 in 159 |
| New Zealand | 28th 2025 | 92 | rank only |
| England and Wales | 37th 2025 | 1,061 | 1 in 239 |
| Scotland | 64th 2025 | 64 | 1 in 280 |
| Northern Ireland | 106th 2025 | 20 | 1 in 364 |
| Ireland | 213th 2025 | 20 | 1 in 1,056 |
| Quebec province | 280th 2025 | 20 | about 1 in 1,300 |
| Poland | 583rd 2025 | 3 | 1 in 39,929 |
| Italy | 1025th 2024 | 9 | 1 in 19,908 |
| Switzerland | 1792nd 2025 | 2 | 1 in 16,997 |
| Austria | 1875th 2025 | 1 | 1 in 35,722 |
| Nova Scotia province | 2nd 2025 | 32 | rank only |
Rare, below the listed names: France, the Netherlands, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Sources: SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Nova Scotia Vital Statistics (data.novascotia.ca) (Nova Scotia). How we count, and every source
About the name
A 19th-century flower name, Violet is taken from the violet, sometimes as an anglicised form of the earlier French Violette.
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It has three syllables, VY-uh-lit, with the stress on the first. Violette, Violeta, Violetta and Viola are close relatives, and Ibolya and Orvokki are listed among its variants.
Violet is a top-ten name in South Australia and Queensland and ranks high in Ontario, while it is rare in Poland, Italy and Switzerland. The Ontario and British Columbia records place its peak in 2024, and it is rising in ten places with no falls recorded. It is a vintage name enjoying a strong revival across the English-speaking world.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- VY-uh-lit, 3 syllables
- Meaning
violet (flower)
- Origin
- English
- Other spellings
- Violette
- Violeta
- Viola
- Viole
- Ibolya
- Violetta
- Wiola
- Violant
- Orvokki
- Vióletta
- Víóletta
- Wioleta
- Wioletta
Etymology
A 19th century flower name from violet, sometimes as an anglicisation of the earlier French Violette.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 10 of 13 regions, falling in none.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 65 | 62 | 53 | 51 | 48 | 45 | 43 | 42 | 42 | 37 |
| Scotland | 94 | 88 | 95 | 74 | 60 | 92 | 53 | 72 | 41 | 64 |
| Northern Ireland | 190 | 143 | 151 | 157 | 212 | 206 | 127 | 151 | 119 | 106 |
| Ireland | 359 | 365 | 299 | 235 | 294 | 336 | 254 | 163 | 171 | 213 |
| Ontario | 30 | 31 | 24 | 28 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 11 | |
| British Columbia | 29 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 20 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 6 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 2 | ||
| New South Wales | 44 | 41 | 39 | 45 | 41 | 34 | 27 | 25 | 28 | 20 |
| Victoria | 41 | 38 | 50 | 41 | 36 | 37 | 34 | 36 | 26 | 15 |
| Queensland | 34 | 36 | 40 | 32 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
| South Australia | 37 | 45 | 26 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 32 | 19 | 22 | 7 |
| New Zealand | 44 | 62 | 51 | 50 | 63 | 56 | 44 | 37 | 21 | 28 |
| Quebec | 522 | 561 | 388 | 410 | 378 | 404 | 459 | 339 | 287 | 280 |
| France | 3634 | |||||||||
| The Netherlands | 1047 | 1027 | 1016 | 913 | ||||||
| Sweden | 900 | |||||||||
| Italy | 1236 | 1027 | 1025 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 37 | 1,061 | 418.9 |
| 2024 | 42 | 1,010 | 391.5 |
| 2023 | 42 | 1,034 | 403.0 |
| 2022 | 43 | 1,057 | 401.1 |
| 2021 | 45 | 1,057 | 385.7 |
| 2020 | 48 | 962 | 358.4 |
| 2019 | 51 | 990 | 353.5 |
| 2018 | 53 | 970 | 336.5 |
| 2017 | 62 | 911 | 304.6 |
| 2016 | 65 | 959 | 312.2 |
| 2015 | 68 | 854 | 277.3 |
| 2014 | 71 | 754 | 245.9 |
| 2013 | 78 | 709 | 229.9 |
| 2012 | 100 | 580 | 180.1 |
| 2011 | 114 | 513 | 159.7 |
| 2010 | 123 | 466 | 145.2 |
| 2009 | 135 | 409 | 130.5 |
| 2008 | 149 | 362 | 114.6 |
| 2007 | 178 | 299 | 97.7 |
| 2006 | 200 | 245 | 81.9 |
| 2005 | 273 | 161 | 55.9 |
| 2004 | 607 | 50 | 17.5 |
| 2003 | 666 | 43 | 15.4 |
| 2002 | 656 | 41 | 15.3 |
| 2001 | 710 | 35 | 13.1 |
| 2000 | 764 | 30 | 11.0 |
| 1999 | 794 | 28 | 9.9 |
| 1998 | 955 | 22 | 7.6 |
| 1997 | 897 | 24 | 8.2 |
| 1996 | 1031 | 19 | 6.4 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Violet in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2011. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 2024, at 633.4 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Violet per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2024 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Violet
1 in 82 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 240 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 293 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 127 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 459 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 142 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 124 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 143 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Violet.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Violet.
Middle names for Violet
1 in 71 in Scotland
Violet Olivia
3-4 beats · initials VO
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Violet Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials VC
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Violet Sophie
3-2 beats · initials VS
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Violet Grace
3-1 beats · initials VG
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Violet Anna
3-2 beats · initials VA
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 154 in Ireland
Violet Emma
3-2 beats · initials VE
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 197 in Ireland
Violet Alice
3-2 beats · initials VA
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 88 in Scotland
Violet Amelia
3-4 beats · initials VA
Changes the beat after Violet: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables.
Same style as Violet
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 240 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 284 in England and Wales
95% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 184 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 124 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 162 in England and Wales
95% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 326 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Violet across countries and decades.
Famous people named Violet
Violet Jessop, Violet Brown, Violet Gibson, Violet McGraw, Violet Trefusis, Violet Hunt and Violet Alva.
Show all 7Show less
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Titanic crew member (1887–1971)
-
Jamaican supercentenarian (1900–2017)
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Irish aristocrat noted for shooting Mussolini (1876–1956)
-
American actress born 2011
-
English socialite and author (1894–1972)
-
British writer (1862-1942)
-
Indian politician (1908-1969)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Violet
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Violet?
Her best rank is No. 7 in South Australia in 2025. She is in the published lists of 17 of our 40 regions.
What does Violet mean?
Wiktionary glosses Violet as "violet (flower)".
How do you pronounce Violet?
VY-uh-lit, with 3 syllables.
Is Violet getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 10 of 13 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Violet?
The deck's top five sisters for Violet: Sadie, Hazel, Sienna, Summer and Evie. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.