Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Oliver

Say it AH-li-ver 3 syllables

Old French · “olive tree; or ancestral relic (Old Norse Oleifr)”

Loved across England and Wales, three Canadian provinces, the Nordic countries, and 9 more places. Common in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and 8 more places. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 5 more places.

1 in 86 boys born in England and Wales in 2025. Number 6 there.

Oliver in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 18, common in 11, rare in 8.
Oliver in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales6 (down)20253,1541 in 8612020
Scotland5 (down)20252691 in 7342020
Northern Ireland12 (down)2025911 in 9152020
Ireland18 (up)20252081 in 114252020
North America
Ontario (province)4 (up)2024574about 1 in 10472019
Quebec (province)119202557about 1 in 5101192020
British Columbia (province)2 (up)2023196about 1 in 6632018
Nova Scotia (province)5 (down)20253212020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)2 (down)202546412020
Victoria (state)2 (down)202546412020
Queensland (state)1202539412020
South Australia (state)1202512612020
New Zealand3 (down)202523412020
Western Europe
France434 (up)20251051 in 2,8834762020
Netherlands25 (up)2025358about 1 in 186592020
Central Europe
Austria40 (up)20252111 in 180452020
Switzerland44 (up)20251261 in 286602020
Berlin (city)95 (up)202336about 1 in 4311392018
Munich (city)61 (up)202519about 1 in 230632020
Cologne (city)185 (down)20237about 1 in 9111672018
Bonn (city)148 (down)20254about 1 in 7921042020
Leipzig (city)93 (down)20256about 1 in 479912020
Rostock (city)172 (down)20251about 1 in 1,047672020
Nordic countries
Norway5 (down)20253431 in 6822020
Sweden8 (down)2025506about 1 in 8572020
Denmark6202543562020
Finland52025283No list2020
Iceland (as Óliver)52025Rank onlyNo list2020
Southern Europe
Spain18 (up)20241,340212019
Catalonia (region)31 (down)20251351 in 153292020
Italy121 (up)20241841 in 1,0291542019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland115 (up)20251341 in 9431252020
Hungary (as Olivér)2 (up)202598492020
Slovenia5 (up)2025147about 1 in 49212020
Estonia2 (up)20258042020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
Croatia362025126No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
Israel (published as אוליבר)451 (up)202423about 1 in 3,7007422019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. Israel publishes names in Hebrew script; the original is shown beside the name. Rank only: the place publishes a top list without counts. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Oliver reached English through the Old French Olivier, and its meaning is read in two ways. The familiar reading links it with the olive tree, through Latin. The more likely origin, though, is Germanic: either the Old Norse Oleifr, "ancestral relic", or older words for "all" and "true". In medieval legend, Oliver is the loyal paladin of Charlemagne and the companion of Roland.

2 more paragraphs

It has three syllables, AH-li-ver, with the stress at the front, and Ollie is the obvious short form. Olivér and Óliver are accented spellings, and relatives run from the French Olivier to Oliwer, Olivero and Ōriwa.

Oliver is a leading name in Australia, at number one in Queensland and South Australia, and it ranks near the top in British Columbia, Hungary, Estonia and Norway. In Canada it peaked around 2020.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
AH-li-ver · 3 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 3.
Meaning
“olive tree; or ancestral relic (Old Norse Oleifr)”
Origin
Old French, Old Norse, and Germanic
Spellings counted
Counted together with Oliver here: Olivér, Óliver.
Related names
Olivier, Oliwer, Oliwier, Oliverius, Olliver, Olivério, Olivero, Oliveiros, Ōriwa, Oilibhéar, Ulivieru, Ölu, Ollyver, Oliu, Olifer
Where Oliver comes from (Wiktionary)

From Middle English Oliver, from Old French Olivier, by folk etymology linked to Latin Olivarius, but probably from Old Norse Oleifr ("ancestral" + "relic") or Proto-Germanic *ala- "all" + *weraz "true". A paladin of Charlemagne.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Oliver. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Oliver over time

Rising in 6 of the 34 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 4. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 2020.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Oliver in England and Wales: #23 in 1996, a peak of #1 in 2009, and #6 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #23, 3,655 boys1997: #24, 3,647 boys1998: #20, 3,970 boys1999: #19, 3,958 boys2000: #14, 4,402 boys2001: #12, 4,534 boys2002: #10, 4,794 boys2003: #6, 5,062 boys2004: #7, 5,565 boys2005: #5, 5,516 boys2006: #4, 5,898 boys2007: #3, 6,438 boys2008: #2, 7,417 boys2009: #1, 7,364 boys2010: #1, 8,427 boys2011: #2, 7,007 boys2012: #2, 6,669 boys2013: #1, 6,949 boys2014: #1, 6,649 boys2015: #1, 6,941 boys2016: #1, 6,623 boys2017: #1, 6,259 boys2018: #1, 5,390 boys2019: #1, 4,932 boys2020: #1, 4,225 boys2021: #2, 4,167 boys2022: #4, 3,691 boys2023: #3, 3,556 boys2024: #3, 3,492 boys2025: #6, 3,154 boys#23 in 1996peak #1, 2009#6in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996233,655
1997243,647
1998203,970
1999193,958
2000144,402
2001124,534
2002104,794
200365,062
200475,565
200555,516
200645,898
200736,438
200827,417
200917,364
201018,427
201127,007
201226,669
201316,949
201416,649
201516,941
201616,623
201716,259
201815,390
201914,932
202014,225
202124,167
202243,691
202333,556
202433,492
202563,154

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Oliver in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2015. Peak: 2020, about 1,176 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 55.7 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 56.9 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 29.5 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 27.9 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 21.1 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 13.2 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 8.7 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 15.4 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 28.6 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 57.7 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 51.4 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 51.6 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 40.8 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 77.2 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 88.2 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 148.8 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 374 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 697.4 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 1,034.2 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 1,115.5 per 100,000 boys20202020-2024: about 1 in 90 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–192955.7
1930–193456.9
1935–193929.5
1940–194427.9
1945–194921.1
1950–195413.2
1955–19598.7
1960–196415.4
1965–196928.6
1970–197457.7
1975–197951.4
1980–198451.6
1985–198940.8
1990–199477.2
1995–199988.2
2000–2004148.8
2005–2009374
2010–2014697.4
2015–20191,034.2
2020–20241,115.5

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Oliver

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Oliver, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 67, Northern Ireland

  2. 1 in 83, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 67, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 76, Ireland

  5. 1 in 64, Catalonia

  6. 1 in 124, Ireland

  7. 1 in 83, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 50, Ireland

  10. 1 in 118, England and Wales

All 40 brother names for Oliver

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Oliver's 3 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 105, Ireland

  6. 1 in 67, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 136, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 112, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Oliver Jack

Syllables 3-1Initials O.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Oliver

Sisters for Oliver: Amelia, Emma, Ava, and 5 more
  1. AmeliaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  2. EmmaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  3. AvaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  4. MiaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  5. MatildaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  6. SofiaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  7. EllaRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver
  8. LilyRose and fell with Oliver · Same generation as Oliver

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Oliver

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Oliver's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Common across the UK, Poland, the Netherlands, and 19 more places.

  2. Loved across France, the UK, Canada, and 19 more places.

  3. Rare in France, Israel, the Netherlands, and 13 more places.

  4. Loved across France, the UK, Canada, and 16 more places.

  5. Common across France, the UK, three Nordic countries, and 11 more places.

  6. Common in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and 14 more places.

  7. Common across France, the UK, Italy, and 17 more places.

  8. Common across three Canadian provinces, Israel, Sweden, and 10 more places.

Famous people named Oliver

Oliver Cromwell, Oliver Stone, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Oliver

How popular is Oliver in Queensland?

Oliver ranked #1 in Queensland in 2025, given to 394 boys.

Is Oliver rising in popularity?

In some places: it is rising in more of them than it is falling. Rising in 6 of the 34 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 4. Rising in: Israel, Slovenia, Poland, Netherlands, Berlin, and 1 other region.

What does Oliver mean?

Oliver means “olive tree; or ancestral relic (Old Norse Oleifr)”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Oliver have?

Oliver has 3 syllables: AH-li-ver.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

0kept

Kept names collect here.

Compare