| Viola | Bella | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Violet | Beautiful |
| Origin | Italian | italian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | vee-OH-lah | BEL-uh |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1918 (4,331) | 2010 (5,136) |
| In 2025 | 247 | 2,129 |
| Trend | Rising | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Viola | Bella |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,357 | 17,107 |
| 2010s | 1,871 | 43,218 |
| 2000s | 734 | 16,828 |
| 1990s | 488 | 854 |
| 1980s | 764 | 195 |
| 1970s | 1,058 | 236 |
| 1960s | 2,732 | 227 |
| 1950s | 5,386 | 305 |
| 1940s | 8,269 | 235 |
| 1930s | 14,256 | 363 |
| 1920s | 33,251 | 1,349 |
| 1910s | 33,076 | 1,576 |
| 1900s | 16,559 | 555 |
| 1890s | 9,386 | 431 |
| 1880s | 3,806 | 242 |
Viola is the Italian and Latin word for the violet flower.
Directly the Italian/Spanish word bella 'beautiful', from Latin bella/bellus. NOTE: as a given name Bella is most often a short form of Isabella, whose own meaning is 'pledged/devoted to God' (a Hebrew-origin name, NOT beauty); Bella qualifies here only on the strength of the standalone Italian word 'beautiful'.
Bella is more popular than Viola today: about 2,129 US babies were given the name Bella in 2025, compared with 247 named Viola.
Viola means Violet (Italian origin), while Bella means Beautiful (italian origin).
In US records, Viola first appears in 1880 and Bella in 1880, so Viola has the longer recorded history.