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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The surname Viola was first found in Kent where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that county.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Viola research. Another 145 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1106, 1432, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1600, 1634 and 1662 are included under the topic Early Viola History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Viola has undergone many spelling variations, including Villet, Villette, Villettes, Violet, Vilett, Vilet, Violett and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include Thomas Violet (fl. 1634-1662), English writer on trade, a goldsmith and alderman of London. in 1634, he was imprisoned for twenty weeks in the same year...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Viola Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Viola is the 5,014th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Viola is ranked the 8,361st most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Viola were among those contributors: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..