Lola

Lola meaning

Lola is an international and Christian girl's name of Spanish origin (from Latin).

Pet form of Dolores, "sorrows", from Mary of the Sorrows

Also used to mean: lady of sorrows

Lola is the Spanish pet form of Dolores. The Online Etymology Dictionary explains Dolores as short for María de los Dolores, "Mary of the Sorrows", the Catholic title known in English as Our Lady of Sorrows; dolores is the plural of dolor, from Latin dolor, "pain, sorrow". The "sorrows" are the griefs of the Virgin Mary, so in Spanish-speaking Catholic families the name honours her rather than wishing sadness on a child. Lola has long been used on its own, and Lolita is its smaller pet form. It is short and bright to say, LOH-luh, and fits easily with Indian surnames.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com) · entry Dolores · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, Dolores · Online Etymology Dictionary, Lola · Lewis & Short, dolor (Logeion)

Famous namesakes

• Lola Montez, nineteenth-century dancer and adventuress

Popularity abroad

• #275 United States, girls 2025 (down 3 from 272 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #87 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Lola · Lolah

Related names

More names of Latin origin

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