How popular is the baby name Iola in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Iola.

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Popularity of the baby name Iola


Posts that mention the name Iola

Baby names associated with purple: Violet, Amethyst, Tyrian, Plum

purple twilight

Looking for baby names that are associated with purple — including baby names that mean “purple”?

If so, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve collected dozens of options for you in this post.

Before we get to the names, though, let’s take a quick look at what the color purple represents…

Symbolism of purple

What does the color purple signify?

In Western cultures in particular, purple can be symbolic of:

  • Royalty
  • Nobility
  • Wisdom
  • Luxury
  • Imagination
  • Mystery
  • Spirituality

The color came to be identified with royalty and nobility during ancient times. In those days, creating purple dye for fabric was laborious and time-consuming, so the dye was very expensive. As a result, only the wealthy could afford to wear purple-colored clothing.

purple flowers (aubrieta)

Baby names associated with purple

All of the names below are associated with the color purple. The names range from traditional to unusual, and their associations range from strong to slight.

Those that have been popular enough to appear in the U.S. baby name data are linked to their corresponding popularity graphs.

Amaranth
Amaranth flowers are sometimes purple. The genus name Amaranthus is derived from a combination of the Ancient Greek words amarantos, meaning “unfading,” and anthos, meaning “flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Amaranth.

Amethyst
The word amethyst refers to a purple variety of the mineral quartz. (The Ancient Greeks thought that amethyst — perhaps due to its wine-like color — would prevent drunkenness, so they called it amethustos, meaning “not intoxicating.”) By extension, the word also refers to the purple color of these crystals. Amethyst will only form in quartz that: (a) contains trace amounts of iron, and (b) is exposed to low-level gamma radiation. The radiation will oxidize the iron, and thereby change the crystal’s color from clear to purple. Here’s the popularity graph for Amethyst.

Aster
Aster flowers are often purple. The genus name Aster, derived from the Ancient Greek word aster, meaning “star,” is a reference to the shape of the flower head. Here’s the popularity graph for Aster.

Aubrieta
Aubrieta flowers are commonly purple. The genus Aubrieta was named in honor of French botanical artist Claude Aubriet.

Azalea
Azalea (pronounced uh-ZAY-lee-uh) flowers are sometimes purple. The (obsolete) genus name Azalea is derived from the Ancient Greek word azaleos, meaning “dry.” Here’s the popularity graph for Azalea.

Banafsha
Banafsha is a Persian feminine name meaning “violet.”

Betony
Betony flowers are usually purple. “Betony” is the common name of plants in the genus Stachys. Here’s the popularity graph for Betony.

Bíbor
Bíbor (pronounced BEE-bor) is a Hungarian masculine name based on the word bíbor, meaning “purple.”

Bíborka
Bíborka is a feminine form of Bíbor.

Bora
Bora is a Korean feminine name meaning “purple.” (Though the name has appeared in the U.S. data, this probably reflects the usage of the identical Albanian name, which means “snow.”) Here’s the popularity graph for Bora.

Fjóla
Fjóla (pronounced FYOH-lah) is an Icelandic and Faroese feminine name meaning “violet.”

Fjólar
Fjólar is the masculine form of Fjóla.

Giacinta and Giacinto
Giacinta (feminine) and Giacinto (masculine) are the Italian forms of Hyacinth. Here’s the popularity graph for Giacinto.

Gladiola
Gladiola refers to Gladiolus, a genus of plants with flowers that are sometimes purple. The genus name, meaning “little sword” (a diminutive of the Latin word gladius, “sword”) refers to the shape of the leaves. Here’s the popularity graph for Gladiola.

Haze
Haze (besides being a vocabulary word) is part of “Purple Haze” [vid] — the title of the song by Jimi Hendrix. “Purple Haze” was the opening track of the iconic album Are You Experienced (1967). Here’s the popularity graph for Haze.

Heather
Heather flowers are usually purple. “Heather” is the common name of plants in the genus Calluna. Here’s the popularity graph for Heather.

Honesty
Honesty (besides being a vocabulary word) is the common name of the plant species Lunaria annua, which has flowers that are frequently purple. The common name is likely a reference to the translucence of the seed pods. Here’s the popularity graph for Honesty.

Hyacinth
Hyacinth flowers are often purple. The genus Hyacinthus was named for the plant’s association with the myth of Hyacinthus (who was one of the lovers of Apollo in Greek mythology). Here’s the popularity graph for Hyacinth.

Iantha
Iantha is a variant of Ianthe. Here’s the popularity graph for Iantha.

Ianthe
Ianthe, which means “violet flower,” is derived from a combination of the Ancient Greek words ion, meaning “violet,” and anthos, meaning “flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ianthe.

Ibolya
Ibolya is a Hungarian form of Viola.

Iola
Iola is a variant of Iole. Here’s the popularity graph for Iola.

Iolanda
Iolanda is the Portuguese and Italian form of Yolanda. Here’s the popularity graph for Iolanda.

Iolanthe
Iolanthe may be a variant of Yolanda influenced by the name Ianthe.

Iole
Iole (pronounced IE-oh-lee) is based on the Ancient Greek word ion, meaning “violet.” In Greek myth, Iole was one of Heracles’ many objects of desire. Here’s the popularity graph for Iole.

Iona
Iona could be considered a variant of Ione, though more often it’s a reference to the Scottish island of Iona. Here’s the popularity graph for Iona.

Ione
Ione (pronounced ie-OH-nee) is also based on the Ancient Greek word ion, meaning “violet.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ione.

Iris
The word iris can refer to several things, including flowering plants of the genus Iris, the name of which comes from the Ancient Greek word for “rainbow.” The showy blooms of these plants come in a variety of colors (as the name suggests), though we often think of irises as being shades of purple. For instance, did you know that all of the irises in Vincent van Gogh’s various paintings were once purple? His irises now appear blue only because the red pigment he used to create the purple has faded over time. Here’s the popularity graph for Iris.

Jacaranda
Jacaranda flowers are purple. The genus name Jacaranda is derived from a Tupi-Guarani word meaning “fragrant.”

Jacinta and Jacinto
Jacinta (feminine) and Jacinto (masculine) are the Spanish and Portuguese forms of Hyacinth. Here are the popularity graphs for Jacinta and Jacinto.

Jolanda
Jolanda (pronounced yoh-LAHN-dah) is the Dutch form of Yolanda. Here’s the popularity graph for Jolanda.

Lavender
Lavender flowers are typically purple. “Lavender” is the common name of plants in the genus Lavandula. The genus name is derived from the Latin word lividus, meaning “bluish,” and/or the Latin word lavare, meaning “to wash” (due to aromatic lavender being used in washing and bathing). Here’s the popularity graph for Lavender.

Liila
Liila is the Finnish form of Lilac.

Lila
Lila is the Swedish form of Lilac, though the name also has other possible meanings (e.g., “play” in Sanskrit, “night” in Arabic). Here’s the popularity graph for Lila.

Lilac
Lilac flowers are frequently purple. “Lilac” is the common name of plants in the genus Syringa. Here’s the popularity graph for Lilac.

Lupine
Lupine flowers are often purple. The genus name Lupinus is derived from the Latin word lupinus, meaning “wolfish” (from lupus, “wolf”). Here’s the popularity graph for Lupine.

Magenta
Magenta is a reddish-purple color. A French chemist first synthesized magenta-colored dye in the late 1850s, and the color was eventually named “Magenta” in honor of the French-Sardinian victory at the Battle of Magenta (1859). Here’s the popularity graph for Magenta.

Malva
Malva flowers are commonly purple. The genus name Malva comes from the Latin word for the plant, malva.

Murasaki
Murasaki is a Japanese feminine name meaning “purple.” Originally it referred to the gromwell plant, the root of which was used to make purple dye.

Orchid
Orchid flowers are sometimes purple. Orchids are all members of the Orchidaceae family of plants. Here’s the popularity graph for Orchid.

Phoenix
Phoenix refers to the mythical bird, but the name of that bird was based on the Ancient Greek word phoinix, meaning “purple” or “crimson.” Here’s the popularity graph for Phoenix.

Plum
Plum fruits are commonly purple. Plum trees are part of the genus Prunus. Here’s the popularity graph for Plum.

Porfiria and Porfirio
Porfiria (feminine) and Porfirio (masculine) are the modern Spanish forms of Porphyrius. Here are the popularity graphs for Porfiria and Porfirio.

Porfiriy
Porfiriy is the modern Russian masculine form of Porphyrius.

Porphyrios
Porphyrios was an Ancient Greek name derived from the word porphyra, meaning “purple dye, purple.”

Porphyrius
Porphyrius is the Latinized form of Porphyrios.

Purple
Purple, which can also be traced back to the ancient Greek word porphyra, is rarely used as a given name…though I did spot a girl named Purple in Los Angeles’ baby name data a few years back.

rebeccapurple

Rebecca
Rebecca is part of “rebeccapurple” — the name of the shade of purple with the hex value #663399. The color name pays tribute to Rebecca Meyer, the daughter of web design pioneer Eric Meyer. Rebecca, whose favorite color was purple, passed away on her 6th birthday (in mid-2014). The biblical name Rebecca is ultimately derived from the Semitic root r-b-q, meaning “to tie” or “to secure.” Here’s the popularity graph for Rebecca.

Sigalit
Sigalit is a Hebrew feminine name meaning “violet.”

Sumire
Sumire (pronounced soo-mee-reh) is a Japanese name that can mean “violet,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Sumire.

Temenuzhka
Temenuzhka is a Bulgarian feminine name meaning “violet.”

Thistle
Thistle flowers are usually purple. “Thistle” is the common name of various prickly plants, most of which are in the Asteraceae family. Here’s the popularity graph for Thistle.

Twila
Twila may be based on the English word “twilight.” During twilight, the sky can turn various shades of purple. Here’s the popularity graph for Twila.

Twyla
Twyla is a variant of Twila. Here’s the popularity graph for Twyla.

Tyrian
Tyrian (pronounced TEE-ree-uhn) is part of “Tyrian purple” — the name of the expensive purple dye used during ancient times that I mentioned earlier. The source of the dye was a type of sea snail found in the Mediterranean, near the city of Tyre (now part of Lebanon). The city name can be traced back to the Hebrew word tsor, meaning “rock,” as the settlement was originally built upon a rocky formation. Here’s the popularity graph for Tyrian.

Verbena
Verbena flowers are sometimes purple. The genus name Verbena is derived from the Latin word verbena, which referred to the leaves, twigs, and branches of specific plants (like laurel, olive, and myrtle) that were used during religious ceremonies. Here’s the popularity graph for Verbena.

Vernonia
Vernonia flowers are typically purple. The genus Vernonia was named in honor of English botanist William Vernon.

Viola
Viola is based on the Latin word viola, meaning “violet.” In fact, the genus Viola includes many (though not all) violet flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Viola.

Violanda
Violanda is another elaboration of Viola. Here’s the popularity graph for Violanda.

Violet
The word violet refers to any flowering plant of the genus Viola — particularly the fragrant species Viola odorata — or to any similar-looking flowering plant. By extension, it also refers to the bluish-purple color of these flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Violet.

Violeta
The name Violeta is a form of Violet used in Spanish, Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and other languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Violeta.

Violett
Violett is a variant of Violet. Here’s the popularity graph for Violett.

Violetta
Violetta is an Italian and Hungarian form of Violet. Here’s the popularity graph for Violetta.

Violette
The name Violette is a form of Violet used in French. Here’s the popularity graph for Violette.

Violia
Violia is an elaboration of Viola. Here’s the popularity graph for Violia.

Viorica
Viorica is a Romanian form of Viola.

Wisteria
Wisteria (pronounced wuh-STEE-ree-uh) flowers are frequently light purple. The genus Wisteria was named in honor of American physician and anatomist Caspar Wistar. Here’s the popularity graph for Wisteria.

Yolanda
Yolanda may have been derived from the medieval European feminine name Violante, which was based on the Latin word viola, “violet.” Here’s the popularity graph for Yolanda.

Yolande
Yolande is the French form of Yolanda. Here’s the popularity graph for Yolande.

Yukari
Yukari is a Japanese feminine name that can mean “purple,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Yukari.

Yukariko
Yukariko is a Japanese name that can include the element Yukari.

Zi
Zi (third tone) is a Chinese name that can mean “purple,” depending upon the character being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Zi.

Ziming
Ziming is a Chinese name that can include the element Zi.

Ziyang
Ziyang is another Chinese name that can include the element Zi. Here’s the popularity graph for Ziyang.

Zinnia
Zinnia flowers are sometimes purple. The genus Zinnia was named in honor of German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn. Here’s the popularity graph for Zinnia.


Can you think of any other names that have a connection to the color purple?

P.S. Want to see more color-related baby names? Here are lists of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue names.

Sources:

Images:

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

Game: Add 3 girl names to this 1910 list…

In 1910, the Boston-based publisher H. M. Caldwell Co. ran the following ad for its “My Own Name” series of books in American Motherhood magazine.

names from 1910

It is the purpose of these charming little books to tell girls all about their names, information about the name, its origin, the name in history, the name in poetry, fiction and romance is given, also notable namesakes past and present.

It wasn’t much of a series, though, as there were only 25 names to choose from:

  1. Alice (ranked 10th nationally in 1910)
  2. Annie (19th)
  3. Bertha (33rd)
  4. Charlotte (99th)
  5. Dorothy (4th)
  6. Edith (35th)
  7. Eleanor (55th)
  8. Elizabeth (7th)
  9. Fanny (391st)
  10. Gertrude (26th)
  11. Gladys (15th)
  12. Helen (2nd)
  13. Isabel (176th)
  14. Jane (116th)
  15. Katherine (57th)
  16. Lucy (75th)
  17. Margaret (3rd)
  18. Marion (59th)
  19. Marjorie (68th)
  20. Mary (1st)
  21. Mildred (8th)
  22. Nellie (51st)
  23. Ruth (5th)
  24. Sarah (40th)
  25. Winifred (185th)

Clearly three more names could have fit on that last line (next to Winifred), so let’s turn this into a game. Which three girl names would you add to this list? That is, give us three names you like that would also be logical additions to this list, given the time period. For instance, I think I’d add Iola, Della, and Bonnie. How about you?

(If you want to access the national rankings for 1910, click over to the SSA’s site and scroll down to “Popular Names by Birth Year.”)

Patience and Fortitude: The New York Public Library lions

New York Public Library on opening day (1911)
New York Public Library

Two marble lions have been guarding the entrance of the New York Public Library since it opened in May of 1911. These days, the lions are usually called Patience and Fortitude. But over the years they’ve had various nicknames, including a number of male/female nicknames (despite the fact that both lions are clearly male). Some examples:

  • Ainsley and Rollo
  • Leo Astor and Leo Lenox
    • The NYPL was created by combining the Astor and Lenox libraries.
  • Lord Lenox and Lady Astor
  • Leo and Leonora
  • Peter Cooper and Horace Greeley (famous for their whiskers, among other things)
  • Plato and Lily
  • Pyramus and Thisbe
  • Uptown and Downtown

The NYPL attributes the “Patience” and “Fortitude” to former NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who was in office from 1934 to 1945.

Mayor LaGuardia…nicknamed The New York Public Library’s lions Patience and Fortitude for the qualities he felt New Yorkers needed to survive the Great Depression.

While it’s a nice story, I can’t find any record of LaGuardia suggesting that the library lions be called by those particular nicknames. He did, however, use the phrase “Patience and Fortitude” repeatedly in his weekly WWII-era radio talks (1942-1945) on WNYC. So LaGuardia may be the ultimate source of the names, but it’s more likely that his radio audience began associating the two words with the two cats during the 1940s — after the Depression was over.

Speaking of Fiorello…the lions were carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, immigrants from Italy. The six brothers were named Ferrucio, Attilio, Furio, Masaniello, Orazio, and Getulio, plus they had a kid sister named Iola (according to the census).

Do you like the nicknames Patience and Fortitude for the lions? If not, what names would you prefer?

Sources:

Image: N.Y. Library on Opening Day (LOC)

Popular and unique baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2015

Flag of Quebec
Flag of Quebec

According to data from Retraite Québec, the most popular baby names in Quebec in 2015 were Emma and Thomas/William (tied).

Here are the province’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Emma, 615 baby girls
2. Léa, 535
3. Olivia, 475
4. Alice, 471
5. Florence, 460
6. Zoe, 429
7. Chloe, 398
8. Beatrice, 390
9. Charlotte, 381
10. Rosalie, 350
1. Thomas, 754 baby boys
2. William, 754 baby boys
3. Jacob, 663
4. Liam, 661
5. Félix, 638
6. Nathan, 630
7. Samuel, 583
8. Logan, 576
9. Alexis, 554
10. Noah, 537

In 2015, Emma replaced Lea as the top girl name, William joined Thomas as the top boy name, Beatrice replaced Charlie in the girls’ top 10, and Noah replaced Olivier in the boy’s top 10. (Here are the 2014 rankings.)

[UPDATE, May 2017 – The Quebec rankings for 2015 have since been updated and it looks like William has pulled ahead of Thomas to become the sole #1 name.]

Of all 9,096 girl names on Quebec’s list in 2015, 74.5% of them were used a single time. Here are some of the unique girl names:

  • Allegresse – the French word allégresse means “joy, elation.”
  • Angelhephzibah
  • Brightness
  • Cathalaya-Skuessi
  • Clerilda
  • Confiance – the French word confiance means “confidence, trust.”
  • Doxalyah
  • Etky
  • Eubenice
  • Evlly
  • Exaucee – the French verb exaucer means “to grant a wish.”
  • Flory Comfort
  • Garance – the French word garance refers to a shade of red created from the root of the madder plant.
  • Glad Marie
  • Glody
  • Graytchelle Mayssa – a Gretchen + Rachel smoosh?
  • Greasy-Elizabeth
  • Happy Moussoni
  • Janiphee
  • Kalliah
  • Kzy
  • Luneve – reminds me of Leneve.
  • M Mah Bourgeois
  • Mingolou Oracle-Kidj
  • Nebraska
  • Nina-Symone
  • Nomad
  • Paphaelle
  • Poema
  • Praise Peter
  • Protegee
  • Relilah
  • Shamash-Cleodaine
  • Skodrina
  • Symphony Melody
  • Uqittuk
  • Uri Wonder
  • Winola – this one reminds me of early 20th-century America.
  • Zoalie
  • Zhya

Of all 7,920 boy names on Quebec’s list in 2015, 76.5% of them were bestowed just once. Here are some of the unique boy names:

  • Anakyn
  • Appamatta – the Pali word appamatta means “diligent, careful.”
  • Aunix
  • Axeliam
  • Bleart
  • Bradley Prague
  • Brady Bullet – this one reminds me of modern America (e.g. Shooter, Trigger).
  • Cedrick Wolynsky
  • Chrysolithe – a type of gem (a.k.a. peridot).
  • Cirrus
  • Dejgaard
  • Diamond-Heliodor – two more gems.
  • Drake Luke
  • Dublin
  • Dugaillekens
  • Elliottt – the only triple T’s in the U.S. data so far are Mattthew and Britttany. Probably typos, but you never know.
  • Eviee
  • Exauce – the masculine form of Exaucee.
  • Ezzeldeen
  • Garnet – another gem.
  • Glovacky
  • Gningnery Yoshua
  • Hervenslaire
  • Icky Neymar
  • Iola Stevie
  • Jimmy Johnny
  • Jyceton
  • Jyfr
  • Kbees
  • Keylord
  • Ludo-Vyck
  • Mathis-Adorable
  • Messy
  • Michael Antares – reminds me of an earlier Antares.
  • Napesis – the Cree word napesis means “boy” or “little boy.”
  • Nyquist
  • Perlcy
  • Rowdy Chance
  • Skogen
  • Sosereyvatanack
  • Tysaiah Jay
  • Whidjley Densly
  • Woobs Therly
  • Zogan

Source: List of Baby Names – Retraite Québec

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)