I have always heard it Vye-o-la, like the actress [name]Viola[/name] [name]Davis[/name].
I’m surprised it hasn’t come up yet…viola is the Spanish word for “rapes” (like, “violates”).
Whenever this comes up about this name I stand up in its defense.
FWIW the prn vee-oh-la is closer to the Spanish prn, as well as the instrument.
(Coincidentally, the instrument name is also the same in Spanish, so if the language can deal,
I’d think people could too). But, it’s just one factor to know about with the name.