On here it says [name]Iola[/name] is “dated beyond redemption”.
But it reminds me of [name]Isla[/name] and [name]Viola[/name], so if they’re OK for babies what’s so bad about [name]Iola[/name]?
I pronounce it eye-O-la but it might be [name]YO[/name]-la - not sure.
I found this name in my family tree yesterday while catching up on some genealogy research. I looked it up in my baby name books and they said “a Greek name meaning [name]Dawn[/name]”. Here at nameberry, the meaning says “a Greek name meaning [name]Violet[/name]”. Either way, I agree it is usable now since other similar-sounding names are popular. I think it should be pronounced “eye-ola” as well.
Wasn’t [name]Iola[/name] the name of that quirky next door neighbor on that [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] show, Mama’s Family?
I think its a lovely name.
jlm, I didn’t see that show - how was [name]Iola[/name] pronounced?
[name]Iola[/name] is a Welsh name and pronounced [name]Yo[/name]-la.
[name]Just[/name] like you said, eye-oh-la (emphasis on the oh, just lilke [name]Viola[/name]). It was just such a silly show, and [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] wore a wig and had this fake old lady accent, and [name]Iola[/name] wasn’t the brightest character (think [name]Rose[/name] from the [name]Golden[/name] Girls) and so [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] (Mama) would always be screeching “Oh, EYE-oh-la” in a way that made the name sound so fuddy - it’s just a funny image if you’ve seen the show, but it’s nothing kids these days will be familiar with.
I actually think the name has a certain charm to it, though I do think I prefer [name]Viola[/name] (which has the adorable nn [name]Vivi[/name]). [name]Iola[/name] is lighter, though.
I do not really think it’s dated beyond redemption. It is a lot like [name]Viola[/name], except I don’t think it’s pronounced with the stress on the same syllable. I don’t think kids today have ever seen Mama’s Family, which, by the way, means they are sadly lacking in culture, I think! Lol, [name]Vicki[/name] [name]Lawrence[/name]. They pronounced it eye-o-la. Or kind of exaggerated I- OWE-luh. [name]Viola[/name] is not pronounced vi-OH-la, but [name]VI[/name]-o-la. The “[name]Yo[/name]-Lah” pronunciation leads me to believe it’s actually more like Ee-oh-la. A “Yah” sound is really somewhat of a diphthong of an E or I sound and whichever letter follows - like if you say “yarn” very slowly, it’s ee-arn, or “yum” is ee-um. Sort of. I’m not a phonetics expert. With a word like Europe, ee-ur-op, Yur-up, [name]Iola[/name] = [name]Yola[/name] makes sense.
I’m not sure it isn’t variable - [name]YO[/name]-la in some places and I-OH-la in some places, similar to the name [name]Iona[/name]/[name]Ione[/name]. To some that is [name]Yona[/name], and some it is I-OH-na. It is hard to tell which pronunciation is correct - given that some people pronounce [name]Lucia[/name] - [name]Lu[/name]-chee-a or [name]Lu[/name]-cha, [name]Lu[/name]-see-a, or Loosh-a, depending on whether you like the Italian way or if you are just sounding it out in your own language, or in a hurry, or [name]Caroline[/name] as Carolinn or [name]Caroleen[/name] like French (which sort of modifies in English to Carolinn), or [name]Carol[/name]-ine - like it’s spelled in English.
If it is I-OH-la, it makes sense that over time people just wouldn’t bother distinguishing the I from the O and just say [name]Yola[/name] in the local dialect. The dictionary tells me [name]Iona[/name] is I-OH-na. Also distinct from [name]Viola[/name], which is pronounced like [name]Violet[/name] with a different ending, [name]VI[/name]-oh-la and not vi-OH-la (if it is the instrument, it is vee-OH-la, and not VEE-oh-la). [name]Even[/name] though this name was last heard ever on Mama’s Family as Eye-OWE-la in a very thick southern drawl, I can’t say that’s farther from correct just because they may have also said ‘Eye-tal-yan’ for Italian (I don’t know that they did, but it falls in a similar category of quaint speech).
The pronunciation “[name]Yo[/name]-la” leads me to at least understand the stress is on the OH part, so it differs from [name]Viola[/name], and that the “[name]IO[/name]” might have just gotten blended in a local dialect to ‘yo’. Eye-oh or Ee-oh can do that if you say them fast - that’s basically what a Y sounds like when sped up.
Really picked it apart. Anyway, I think it’s a cute name either way, is close to [name]Isla[/name] or [name]Lola[/name]-ish names, like [name]Nola[/name], not as similar to [name]Viola[/name] as it seems. It is, perhaps in the “dated beyond redemption” category, because it might be more like [name]Beulah[/name] than you might like too. It’s borderline.
[name]Just[/name] like you said, eye-oh-la (emphasis on the oh, just lilke [name]Viola[/name]). It was just such a silly show, and [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] wore a wig and had this fake old lady accent, and [name]Iola[/name] wasn’t the brightest character (think [name]Rose[/name] from the [name]Golden[/name] Girls) and so [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] (Mama) would always be screeching “Oh, EYE-oh-la” in a way that made the name sound so fuddy - it’s just a funny image if you’ve seen the show, but it’s nothing kids these days will be familiar with.
I actually think the name has a certain charm to it, though I do think I prefer [name]Viola[/name] (which has the adorable nn [name]Vivi[/name]). [name]Iola[/name] is lighter, though.[/quote]
[name]Vicki[/name] [name]Lawrence[/name] played Mama, as was her character when they played this sketch on The [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnett[/name] Show or other format, and it was made into a sitcom. [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnett[/name] played the character [name]Eunice[/name], one of Mama’s ([name]Thelma[/name]'s) daughters.
There’s a family tree at the bottom!
Here is the bio for neighbor, [name]Iola[/name] Boylan:
[name]Just[/name] like you said, eye-oh-la (emphasis on the oh, just lilke [name]Viola[/name]). It was just such a silly show, and [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] wore a wig and had this fake old lady accent, and [name]Iola[/name] wasn’t the brightest character (think [name]Rose[/name] from the [name]Golden[/name] Girls) and so [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnet[/name] (Mama) would always be screeching “Oh, EYE-oh-la” in a way that made the name sound so fuddy - it’s just a funny image if you’ve seen the show, but it’s nothing kids these days will be familiar with.
I actually think the name has a certain charm to it, though I do think I prefer [name]Viola[/name] (which has the adorable nn [name]Vivi[/name]). [name]Iola[/name] is lighter, though.[/quote]
[name]Vicki[/name] [name]Lawrence[/name] played Mama, as was her character when they played this sketch on The [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnett[/name] Show or other format, and it was made into a sitcom. [name]Carol[/name] [name]Burnett[/name] played the character [name]Eunice[/name], one of Mama’s ([name]Thelma[/name]'s) daughters.
There’s a family tree at the bottom!
Here is the bio for neighbor, [name]Iola[/name] Boylan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iola_Boylan[/quote]\
Lol. You are absolutely right!
Thanks, jlm. Awesome post, [name]Karen[/name]!
I watched some clips on youtube to catch how they really say the name - It’s more like [name]Ah[/name]-OH-luh, not really a firm EYE sound, but definitely referential to one, it is not exactly [name]Ah[/name], but more like Eye than Ee or [name]Yola[/name] - like the [name]Ah[/name] in [name]Ah[/name]'m in the kitchen, [name]Ah[/name] slides right into OH, but are two distinct vowel sounds, as opposed to [name]Yola[/name] which is a lot tighter. What a hoot that show was. I might ask for the dvds for [name]Christmas[/name]. [name]Glad[/name] you liked my post!
Definitely just think of [name]Iola[/name] Boylan from Mama’s Family. I’m in my early 20s and would hate to have the name [name]Iola[/name], but maybe because I associate it with a 40 something year old goofball who still lives with her mom on a hilarious sitcom. What I would give for more episodes of the show haha…
If you like the EYE-O sound (as opposed to [name]YO[/name]) then there is always the Scottish name ‘[name]Iona[/name]’, (as someone used as an example above) for the beautiful island off the west coast of [name]Scotland[/name] with a rich christian history. Pronounced EYE-Ohna. It’s a well known name in [name]Scotland[/name], although not that commonly used.
Yes, that was her. And, I’m sorry to say, that’s all I think of when I hear that name…so, for me it is beyond redemption. [name]Viola[/name] is a fresh alternative though - I quite like that one!
[name]Iola[/name] is the kind of name I want to like–it’s Greek, classical, soft, has lots of vowels and the gentle L sound–but I can’t bring myself to love it. The harsh long-I sound at the beginning of the “EYE-o-la” pronunciation isn’t very attractive to me and “[name]YO[/name]-la” brings up some uncomfortably close associations with the word “yokel,” at least to me…
…but what do people think of [name]Iolanthe[/name]?