Yolanda

Yolanda comes from the medieval French name Yolande, probably a form of Violante, itself derived from Latin viola meaning “violet,” though it may also be of Germanic origin. The name was borne by a 12th-century empress of the Latin Empire in Constantinople from Flanders and was used by her descendants in the royal families of Hungary, where it was spelled Jolánta, and Spain, where it was sometimes spelled Violante. Other notable bearers include the Blessed Yolanda of Poland, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary and wife of a Polish duke; Yolanda of Vianden, a 13th-century countess from Luxembourg who entered a convent against her parents’ wishes and later became the subject of medieval legend; and a 15th-century duchess of Lorraine, who was the subject of Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta (1892).

Yolanda moved from #919 to #974 for girls between 2001 and 2002. Its highest annual birth count came in 1969, with 3,771 births.