Violet

What Violet means

From the word “violet”

A 19th century flower name from violet, sometimes as an anglicisation of the earlier French Violette.

Source: Wiktionary, “Violet” (revision 89233798), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Violet?

US: Rising: up from #50 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #68 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 7,546 girls got the name (#13 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 213 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 239 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 280 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (18.48 per 1,000 girls), WY (14.8 per 1,000 girls), AK (14.52 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Violet is #13 in the US and #37 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Violet were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Violette298 US · 14 E&W
• Violett102 US
• Vaiolet6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Violet

Girls

• Olive#197Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #47 vs #197 in 2025
• Hazel#21From the word “hazel”^*
• Dahlia#215Editor’s note Up from #412 in 2015 to #215 in 2025 in the US
• Scarlet#509Editor’s note Down from #376 in 2015 to #509 in 2025 in the US
• Willow#44From the word “willow”^*
• Mercy#862Editor’s note Up from #1,011 in 2015 to #862 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Prince#447Editor’s note Down from #386 in 2015 to #447 in 2025 in the US
• Alden#598“old + friend”^*
• August#81“month of August”^*
• Deacon#561Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1971, with 15 babies
• Briar#686Editor’s note Used for both: 34% of US babies named Briar in 2025 were boys

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under English, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Violet’s. Rank is US 2025.