How Many People Are Named Violet?

An estimated 95,791 people in the United States have the first name Violet. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 18 years old, and Violet peaked in popularity in 2024 with 6,977 births that year.

Below you will find a full statistical profile of Violet as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, state-by-state birth registrations, and, when available, a 2020 Census snapshot showing who had the name at that point in time. You can also check how many people share the full name Violet paired with any surname.

Key Insights

  • While Violet is overwhelmingly female, 284 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.

Estimated Living Americans

95,791

About 1 in 3,578 people in the U.S.

Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

Predicted Gender

Female

99.8% confidence

Average Age

18

years old

Peak Year

2024

6,977 births

Total Registered

178,257

since 1880

Gender Distribution for Violet

Violet is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 178,257 total births registered, 99.8% were female.

Male 284 (0.2%)
Female 177,973 (99.8%)

Violet as a male name

Ranked #14,088 in 2024

5 male births in 2024

Peak: 1928 (16 births)

Violet as a female name

Ranked #15 in 2024

6,972 female births in 2024

Peak: 2024 (6,972 births)

Violet in the 2020 Census

The 2020 Census recorded 72,518 people with the first name Violet, which placed it at #708 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The estimated living count elsewhere on this page is different: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two figures are not expected to match exactly.

Read this section as a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The SSA charts elsewhere on this page are still the better way to see how the name rose, fell, or shifted across generations.

Gender in the 2020 Census

In the 2020 Census, Violet was recorded as predominantly female. Out of 72,518 people with this name in that snapshot, 0.1% were male and 99.9% were female. That is very close to the long-run birth pattern in SSA records, where the name is female 99.8% of the time.

Census Count

72,518

people with this name

Census Rank

#708

among Census first names

Frequency Rate

24.01

per 100,000 people

Male 104 (0.1%)
Female 72,414 (99.9%)

Recorded Race and Hispanic Origin in the 2020 Census

In the 2020 Census, the first name Violet was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (69.22%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (15.65%) and Two or More Races (5.79%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Violet in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.

White
69.22%
Black
5.74%
Hispanic
15.65%
Asian/Pacific Islander
2.58%
American Indian/Alaska Native
1.02%
Two or More Races
5.79%

2020 Census demographic breakdown

Each row shows a recorded Census category for people with the first name Violet.

Group Share Count
White 69.22% 50,193
Hispanic 15.65% 11,351
Two or More Races 5.79% 4,195
Black 5.74% 4,162
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.58% 1,874
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.02% 740

The Census published separate sex and race/origin tables for first names, so their total counts can differ slightly for the same name. That is why the race section focuses on the demographic mix rather than repeating a second headline count.

Violet: Popularity Over Time

SSA records for Violet span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 41,599 babies were registered. While Violet is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.

Male
Female
0 1K 3K 4K 6K 7K 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Violet by Decade

How has Violet tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.

Decade Total Male Female
1880s 879 0 879
1890s 3,076 0 3,076
1900s 7,849 5 7,844
1910s 23,203 46 23,157
1920s 30,121 99 30,022
1930s 13,927 64 13,863
1940s 6,576 23 6,553
1950s 4,152 0 4,152
1960s 2,256 0 2,256
1970s 1,244 0 1,244
1980s 1,394 0 1,394
1990s 1,699 0 1,699
2000s 9,810 0 9,810
2010s 41,599 31 41,568
2020s 30,472 16 30,456

Violet by State

Birth registrations for Violet span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Pennsylvania, Illinois. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, Delaware. On average, about 3,185 Violets were registered per state.

California 14,557
Pennsylvania 10,995
Illinois 9,542
New York 9,318
Texas 9,122
Ohio 7,618
Michigan 6,918
Wisconsin 5,228
Minnesota 5,227
Indiana 4,780
Florida 4,652
Missouri 4,499
Virginia 4,058
New Jersey 3,748
Washington 3,713
Kentucky 3,050
Tennessee 2,895
Oklahoma 2,773
Iowa 2,754
Colorado 2,468
Georgia 2,382
Arizona 2,339
Maryland 2,170
Oregon 2,143
Kansas 2,051
Louisiana 1,846
Arkansas 1,790
Nebraska 1,667
Alabama 1,635
Utah 1,598
North Dakota 1,518
Hawaii 1,397
South Dakota 1,337
Connecticut 1,285
Idaho 943
Montana 903
Maine 835
Nevada 824
Alaska 297
Delaware 260
Vermont 251
Wyoming 221

Violet + Last Name Combinations

How many people share a full name with Violet as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.

Violet: Questions and Answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Violet?

We estimate approximately 95,791 people named Violet are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 3,578 Americans share this first name.

Is Violet a common name?

Violet is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 178,257 births have been registered with this name since 1880.

When was Violet most popular?

Violet reached peak popularity in 2024, when 6,977 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Violet is approximately 18 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.

How common was Violet in the 2020 Census?

The 2020 Census recorded 72,518 people with the first name Violet. That placed it at #708 in the published Census first-name tables, or 24.01 people per 100,000.

Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?

Because they measure different things. The Census number is a count of people with the name in 2020. The living estimate is a current model based on SSA birth records and survival rates, so it aims to estimate how many people with the name are alive now.

What does the SSA popularity chart show?

The popularity chart tracks birth registrations, not people currently alive. It shows how often Violet was given to babies from 1880 through 2024, which is why it is the best tool on the page for seeing long-run naming trends.

What does the Census say about the gender split for Violet?

In the 2020 Census snapshot, Violet was recorded as predominantly female. The published split was 0.1% male and 99.9% female.

What does the Census say about the background of people named Violet?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Violet was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (69.22%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (15.65%) and Two or More Races (5.79%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.

Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?

The Census published separate first-name tables for sex and for race and Hispanic origin. Those totals can differ slightly for the same name, so the page uses them as two related snapshots rather than treating them as perfectly interchangeable counts.

Does every first name have Census demographic data?

No. The public Census first-name tables only include names that met the Bureau's publication rules. That means some names on this site will have SSA history but no published Census demographic snapshot.

Is Violet a female name?

Violet is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.

Why can Violet have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?

Because a name can build up a large population over many decades. Violet peaked in 2024, and the average living bearer is about 18 years old, so a name can still have millions of living bearers even after it stops feeling current for newborns.

How many Violet Smiths are there?

To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Violet Smith, Violet Johnson, Violet Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.

Where does this data come from?

Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.

Search for a full name combination