Violet

A 19th century flower name from violet, sometimes as an anglicisation of the earlier French Violette.

Violet

1. A female given name.
   • 1836 Marian Dora Malet Beasley, Violet Woodville, Carey, Lea & Blanchard (1836), page 16:

     It may be as well to say, by way of parenthesis, that her real name was Violante,―at least, such was the name by which her mother had her christened. But her father thought it much too long, and said it was better to call her Violet.

   • 1972 Witi Ihimaera, Pounamu, Pounamu, Heinemann, →ISBN, page 111:

     Her Pakeha name was Violet, and everybody called her that because her Maori name was too long. And my Nanny, she was just like a violet; shy and small and hiding her face in her petals if the sun blazed too strong.

   • 2009 Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna, Faber and Faber, →ISBN Invalid ISBN, page 262:

     My name is Violet Brown. - - - If I sound colorful, I am not. It's nought but a pair of names, stamped on me by two people who never met. First, my mother. She was fond of romantic novels with "Violets" in them.

• Olivet, Voitel, olivet, toivel

From violet, for a dyer or seller of purple cloth, or diminutive of viole, for a player of the viol.

Violet

1. A surname​.