Lola (English)
Where does "Lola" come from?
The English name 'Lola' is a borrowing from Spanish[1]. In Spanish, it originated as a diminutive of the name 'Dolores'[2]. This name itself derives from the plural noun 'dolores', meaning 'sorrows', as it is a shortened form of the Roman Catholic epithet 'Maria de los Dolores' referring to the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows[3]. The form 'Lola' specifically emerged through the apocope, or shortening, of a colloquial version of 'Dolores'[2].
Open questions
- The precise origin of the colloquial form that led to the apocope is not explicitly defined beyond its role as a diminutive of Dolores. [2]
Full etymology tree
- Lola (English), 'A female given name from Spanish.'
- inherited Lola (Spanish), 'a diminutive of the female given name Dolores, from Old Spanish'
- derived Dolores (Spanish), 'a female given name from Old Spanish'
- inherited dolores (Spanish), 'plural of dolor'
- inherited dolor (Latin), 'pain, ache, hurt'
- inherited dolores (Spanish), 'plural of dolor'
- derived Dolores (Spanish), 'a female given name from Old Spanish'
- inherited Lola (Spanish), 'a diminutive of the female given name Dolores, from Old Spanish'
Ancestors
- Lola (Spanish)
Sources
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris