Viola (given name)

Viola

Orsino and Viola in a scene from William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by Frederick Richard Pickersgill.
Pronunciation	/ˈvaɪələ/ VY-ə-lə, /ˈvaɪoʊlə/ VY-oh-lə
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Latin
Meaning	"violet"
Other names
Related names	Violet Violetta Violeta

Viola is a feminine given name derived from the Latin viola , given in reference to the flowering plant species. The name is in common use in Italy. In Greece as Violeta. It is best known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night . ^[1]

Academics

• Viola Birss, Canadian professor of chemistry
• Viola Garfield (1899–1983), American anthropologist
• Viola Shelly Shantz (1895–1977), American biologist and zoologist

Activists

• Viola Desmond, (1914–1965), African-Nova Scotian civil rights figure
• Viola Hashe (1926–1977), South African anti-apartheid activist
• Viola Hill (1892-?), American suffragist and music director
• Viola Liuzzo (1925–1965), Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist
• Viola Pitts (1914–2004), Fort Worth community activist

Aristocrats

• Viola, Duchess of Opole, 13th-century Bulgarian-Polish noble
• Viola Elisabeth of Cieszyn, Queen of Bohemia and Poland
• Viola Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, widow of Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster

Athletes

• Viola Bauer (born 1976), German cross-country skier
• Viola Cheptoo Lagat (born 1989), Kenyan middle-distance runner
• Viola Goretzki (born 1956), German rower
• Viola Grahl (born 1966), German former field hockey player
• Violah Jepchumba (born 1990), Kenyan long-distance runner
• Viola Kibiwot (born 1983), Kenyan distance runner
• Viola Myers (1927–1993), Canadian athlete
• Viola Odebrecht (born 1983), German footballer
• Viola Poley (born 1955), German rower
• Viola Thomas (born 1939), Canadian barrel rolling champion
• Viola Thompson (1922–2017), American professional baseball player
• Viola Valli (born 1972), Italian long distance swimmer
• Viola Yanik (born 1982), Canadian wrestler

Performers

• Viola Allen (1867–1948), American stage actress
• Viola Barry (1894–1964), American silent film actress
• Viola Compton (1886–1971), British film actress
• Viola Dana (1897–1987), American silent film actress
• Viola Davis (born 1965), American actress
• Viola Farber (1931–1998), American choreographer and dancer
• Viola Gillette (1871–1956), American contralto
• Viola Harris (1920–2017), American actress
• Viola Keats (1911–1998), British film and television actress
• Viola Lyel (1896–1972), British film and television actress
• Viola Léger, (1930–2023), Acadian-Canadian actress and former Canadian Senator
• Viola McCoy, African-American blues singer
• Viola Richard (1904–1973), American silent film actress
• Viola Roache (1885-1961), American actress
• Viola Smith (1912-2020), American drummer
• Viola Valentino (born 1949), Italian singer
• Viola Wills (1939–2009), American pop singer

Politicians and administrators

• Viola Baskerville (born 1951), Secretary of Administration in the Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
• Viola Jimulla, Chief of the Prescott Yavapai tribe
• Viola B. Sanders (1921–2013), director of Women in the Navy

Writers

• Viola Bayley (1911–1997), British children's writer
• Viola Canales (born 1957), American writer
• Viola Fischerová (1935–2010), Czech poet and translator
• Viola Florence Barnes (1885–1979), American historian and author
• Viola Garvin, English poet and editor
• Viola Meynell (1885–1956), English writer, novelist and poet
• Viola Roseboro' (1857–1945), American editor and novelist
• Viola S. Wendt (1907–1986), American poet and educator

Others

• Viola June Cobb (1927–2015), American informant for the CIA
• Viola Frey (1933–2004), American ceramics artist
• Viola Gentry, American aviator
• Viola Haqi (born 1975), Dutch fashion model
• Viola Klaiss (1891–1978), American organist
• Viola R. MacMillan (1903–1993), Canadian authority on mining
• Viola Slaughter (1860–1941), Arizona rancher and the wife of sheriff John Slaughter
• Viola Spolin (1906–1994), American director and teacher

Fictional characters

• Viola, a character from Eternal Sonata
• Viola (Kiddy Grade), in the Japanese anime television series Kiddy Grade
• Viola (She's the Man), a character in the American film She's the Man
• Viola (TimeSplitters), a character in the English video game series TimeSplitters
• Viola (Twelfth Night), a character in William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night
• Viola (Zone of the Enders), a character in the Japanese video game series Zone of the Enders
• Viola, a character from Bayonetta 3
• Viola, a character from Valkyrie Drive- Bhikkhuni
• Viola de Lesseps, heroine of the film Shakespeare in Love
• Viola, a Gym Leader in Pokémon series
• Viola, one of Jake's five children from Adventure Time
• Viola, a character from the anime and manga series One Piece
• Viola, a character from the RPG horror game The Witch's House
• Viola, a character from the series "The Knife of Never Letting Go"
• Viola, a character from the movie "Chaos Walking"

See also

• Viola (surname)
• Violette (given name), a female given name
• Violetta (given name), a female given name
• Violeta (given name), a female given name
• Violet (given name), a female given name
• Viorica, a female given name

References

1. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 271. ISBN   0-19-861060-2.