# Viola (given name)

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. It is best known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

## Academics

* Viola Birss, Canadian professor of chemistry
* Viola Garfield, American anthropologist
* Viola Shelly Shantz, 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, Unitarian Universalist civil rights activist
* Viola Pitts, 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, German cross-country skier
* Viola Cheptoo Lagat (born 1989), Kenyan middle-distance runner
* Viola Goretzki, German rower
* Viola Grahl, German former field hockey player
* Violah Jepchumba (born 1990), Kenyan long-distance runner
* Viola Kibiwot, Kenyan distance runner
* Viola Myers, Canadian athlete
* Viola Odebrecht, German footballer
* Viola Poley, German rower
* Viola Thomas (born 1939), Canadian barrel rolling champion
* Viola Thompson, American professional baseball player
* Viola Valli, Italian long distance swimmer
* Viola Yanik, Canadian wrestler

## Performers

* Viola Allen (1867–1948), American stage actress
* Viola Bailey, Latvian pornographic film actress
* Viola Barry, 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, Secretary of Administration in the Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
* Viola Jimulla, Chief of the Prescott Yavapai tribe
* Viola B. Sanders, director of Women in the Navy

## Writers

* Viola Bayley, British children's writer
* Viola Canales, American writer
* Viola Fischerová, Czech poet and translator
* Viola Florence Barnes, American historian and author
* Viola Garvin, English poet and editor
* Viola Meynell, English writer, novelist and poet
* Viola Roseboro', American editor and novelist
* Viola S. Wendt, American poet and educator

## Others

* Viola June Cobb, American informant for the CIA
* Viola Frey, American ceramics artist
* Viola Gentry, American aviator
* Viola Haqi, Dutch fashion model
* Viola Klaiss, American organist
* Viola R. MacMillan, Canadian authority on mining
* Viola Slaughter, Arizona rancher and the wife of sheriff John Slaughter
* Viola Spolin, 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), 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 in the Soul series of fighting games
* 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"