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Summary
- No one named Jolene appears in the Bible, in Hebrew, Greek or any English translation.
- Jolene was formed in the early 20th century from Jo, short for Joan, Joanna or Josephine, and the ending -lene, as in Marlene.
- Any Hebrew meaning comes through Jo: Joanna and Joan from John, “Yahweh is gracious”; Josephine from Joseph, “may he add.”
- The claims that Jolene comes from French jolie or a Greek name meaning “violet” are not supported by name references.
- Joanna, in Luke 8:3 and 24:10, is the Bible name nearest to it.
- The name entered the US top 1,000 in 1928 and peaked in 1974, after Dolly Parton’s song “Jolene.”
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Jolene,” “Jo,” “Joanna” and “Darlene,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/jolene
- “Jolene (given name),” Wikipedia, citing Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of First Names (Oxford University Press, 2006). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolene_(given_name)
- “Jolene (song),” Wikipedia, on Dolly Parton’s account of the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolene_(song)
- Code of Canon Law (1983), canon 855. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html
- Scripture quotations: Genesis 30:24, English Standard Version. References: Luke 8:1–3; 24:1–10.
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