Violet
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Meaning
from the English word for the violet flower, ultimately from Latin viola
Goes by Vi. See all nicknames
The story
Violet comes from the English flower word, ultimately from Latin viola. As a given name, it was already common in sixteenth-century Scotland before its wider English use in the nineteenth century. Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers assigns faithfulness to the blue violet and modesty to the sweet violet.
After her husband Jack died in 1898, Isabella Stewart Gardner kept fresh flowers in a Norwegian silver cup in his memory. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum continues the practice, often with violets. The cup stands before Christ Carrying the Cross in the Titian Room; the painting is believed to be the work of an artist associated with Giovanni Bellini. Violets were among Gardner’s favorite flowers, and she grew them in her greenhouse in Brookline.
Violet across languages
One shared root links 4 names across 4 languages.
Shared root: from Latin viola, "violet"
The constellation
How popular is Violet around the world?
In the United States, 38,047 babies were named Violet between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 89 girls named Violet were registered in 2024, the 41st most common name among girls that year.
Violet is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales, South Australia, New Zealand, New South Wales, Ireland, Mexico City, Chile, Montevideo, Austria, Poland, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 570
In the United States, 38,047 babies were named Violet between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Violet peaked in the 2020s. Violet reached 30,121 US births in the 1920s, its high point before 1930, fell to 1,243 in the 1970s, and was back at 41,612 in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 510
In Scotland, 89 girls named Violet were registered in 2024, the 41st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 540
In Canada, 677 girls named Violet were born in 2024, the 17th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 550
In England and Wales, 1,061 girls named Violet were born in 2025, the 37th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 5702017
In South Australia, 32 girls were registered as Violet in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 630
In New Zealand, 92 girls named Violet were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
New South Wales
#20 · 2025
In New South Wales, 196 girls named Violet were registered in 2025, ranked 20th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Ireland
1 in 2,700
In Ireland, 20 girls named Violet were born in 2025, the 213th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
1 in 17,000
In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Violet in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 20,000
In Chile, 9 girls were registered as Violet in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Violet was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Violet was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 82,000
In Poland, 3 girls named Violet were born in 2025, the 583rd most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 170,000
In Argentina, 4 newborns were given the name Violet in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 470,000
In Spain, 96 residents are named Violet, ranked 8,080th among women, with a mean age of 25 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 47 people in Brazil were named Violet, ranked 69,533rd, with a median age of 8.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Violet is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 11 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Violet
Most people given the name Violet in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Violet · Names that go with Violet · Nicknames for Violet · Middle names for Violet · The hundred-year rule
The Violet deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Violet truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Violet fits with your family’s names and surname.
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