Fun Facts About the Name Inola
- 155 babies named Inola: U.S. records list 155 babies given the name Inola from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Inola Mean?
Inola is customarily glossed as "black fox," a meaning attached to the name through the Oklahoma town of Inola rather than through a securely documented vocabulary entry. The language behind that gloss is not consistently identified: the name has been explained as coming from a Native American language, with Choctaw and Cherokee both named in different accounts, and no widely accepted original-language form or literal breakdown of the word is available.
Because the personal name follows the place name, "black fox" is best described as the traditional sense of Inola rather than a firmly established etymology. It should not be confused with similarly spelled names, which do not share a demonstrated origin with it.
Inola Name History & Origins
Inola is known chiefly as a place name. The town of Inola lies in Rogers County, Oklahoma, in country that was part of Indian Territory and within the territory of the Cherokee Nation before statehood; the community was founded in the late nineteenth century and the name is generally explained as a Cherokee or Choctaw word for "black fox." That place name is the earliest well-known use of Inola, and it is the source from which the personal name appears to have spread.
As a given name in the United States, Inola is uncommon and has been used mainly for girls. Its use belongs to the general American practice of adopting place names and Native American words as personal names, and it has no separate recorded history as a traditional name in a European language. The connection between the personal name and the Oklahoma town is the clearest fact about its origin.
How Popular is the Name Inola?
Inola has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1920. Its best rank was #1,667 in 1909.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,715 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #14,101 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #12,646 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #12,744 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #11,782 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1940 | #3,650 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1936 | #4,486 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #4,500 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #4,696 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #4,544 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #4,190 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #5,291 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1922 | #3,044 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1921 | #4,214 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #2,990 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1919 | #4,022 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1918 | #5,165 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1917 | #3,499 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1916 | #4,748 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1915 | #4,584 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1914 | #3,883 | 5 | 0.0007% |
| 1913 | #3,416 | 5 | 0.0008% |
| 1909 | #1,667 | 8 | 0.0023% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Inola Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You like to use the pen or the needle (writing, fashion design etc). You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Inola's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Inola's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.