Oliver

Latin

"olive tree or elf army"

Oliver Origin and Meaning

The name Oliver is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "olive tree or elf army".

Oliver is an international star, ranking near the top of the charts in the US and throughout the English-speaking world, along with a host of European and Latin American countries, from Norway to Chile, Slovenia to Switzerland.

Long a popular choice in England, Australia and New Zealand, Oliver entered the list of Top 100 baby boy names in the U.S. for the first time in 2009, but has already jumped to the top of the charts. Why? Because Oliver is energetic and good-natured, stylish but classic, with a meaning symbolizing peace and fruitfulness.

Oliver derives from Olivier, the Norman French variation of the Ancient Germanic name Alfihar ("elf army") or the Old Norse Áleifr ("ancestor's relic"), from which comes Olaf. Olivier emerged as the dominant spelling for its associations with the Latin word oliva, meaning "olive tree."

Oliver was used as a given name in medieval England after the spread of the French epic poem ‘La Chanson de Roland,’ which features a character named Olivier. It lost favor after the seventeenth century rule of Oliver Cromwell, then was revived in the nineteenth century.

Oliver's biggest boost in this country came from the hit book and movie Love Story, which also catapulted the name Jennifer to stardom. Notable namesakes range from Oliver Wendell Holmes to Oliver Hardy to Oliver Stone. In fiction, there is Oliver Twist, and Oliver is also a Harry Potter name.

Oliver works particularly well with single-syllable surnames, as in Oliver Stone, North and Puck (son of Wolfgang). Other celebrities who have chosen Oliver include Bridget Fonda, Fred Savage, Stephen Stills, and Taylor Hawkes.

International forms include the French Olivier, the Spanish Olivero, and the Italian Oliviero.

Parents considering Oliver for their sons might consider that with Olivia at the top of the charts for girls, there will be an awful lot of children with names starting with Oliv-.

Oliver Rank in US Top 1000

# 3 in the US

Oliver Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 15 on Nameberry

Oliver Popularity

• 3 US 2023
• 15 Nameberry 2024
• 6 Canada 2023
• 10 Future 2028
• 4 England 2022
• 7 Scotland 2023
• 22 Ireland 2023
• 1 Australia 2023
• 2 New Zealand 2023
• 99 Germany 2016
• 31 Netherlands 2023
• 19 Spain 2022
• 71 Mexico 2021
• 5 Sweden 2022
• 4 Norway 2023
• 8 Denmark 2023
• 2 Finland 2023
• 26 Iceland 2016
• 61 Belgium 2023
• 41 Switzerland 2023
• 45 Austria 2023
• 126 Poland 2020
• 48 Estonia 2023
• 11 Slovenia 2023
• 67 Chile 2021
• 42 Croatia 2023
• 13 Dogs 2023
• 3 Cats 2023

20 Names Similar to Oliver

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Oliver.

• Henry
• Theodore
• Finn
• Milo
• Owen
• Leo
• Sebastian
• Elliot
• Jasper
• Felix
• James
• Miles
• Noah
• Jack
• Jude
• Oscar
• Charlotte
• Theo
• Asher
• Violet

Famous People Named Oliver

• Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of Britain
• Oliver Stark British actor
• (William) Oliver Stone American film director
• Norvell "Oliver" Hardy American comic
• Oliver Wendell Holmes American physician and writer
• Oliver Goldsmith Irish novelist, playwright and poet
• Oliver Scott "Oli" Sykes lead vocalist of British band Bring Me The Horizon
• Oliver Marach Austrian tennis player
• (Robert) Oliver Reed English actor
• Oliver Phelps American war hero
• Oliver James Platt American actor
• Oliver Graham Chris English actor
• (Oliver) Burgess Meredith American actor
• Oliver Lodge English physicist and writer
• Jamie Oliver English celebrity chef
• Oliver "Olly" Murs English musician
• Oliver Martyn John Phelps English actor, twin brother to actor James Phelps
• Oliver Jackson Cohen, English actor
• Oliver Coleman English Actor
• Oliver Prinz von Anhalt son of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor
• Oliver Alexander "Olly" Thornton British actor and lead singer for the band Years & Years
• Oliver (born William Oliver Swofford) American pop singer
• Oliver "Oli" White British YouTuber
• Oliver Rutledge Hudson American actor, son of actress Goldie Hawn and brother of Kate Hudson
• Oliver Hackett (b. 1974) son of guitarist Steve Hackett of Genesis
• Oliver Miller Bernsen (b. 1989) son of actor Corbin Bernsen
• Oliver Saunders (b. 1991) son of actress Garcelle Beauvais and Daniel Saunders
• Oliver Bacharach (b. 1993) son of songwriter Burt Bacharach
• Oliver Ragland Stills (b. 2004) son of musician Stephen Stills
• Oliver Watson (b. 2005) son of actor Barry Watson and TV presenter Tracy Hutson
• Oliver Chevallier (b. 2005) son of TV presenter Michaela Strachan and Nick Chevallier
• Oliver Philip Savage (b. 2006) son of actor Fred Savage
• Oliver Shane Hawkins (b. 2006) son of drummer Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters
• Oliver Wolfgang Puck (b. 2006) son of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck
• Oliver McLanahan Phillips (b. 2007) son of actress Julie Bowen and Scott Phillips
• Oliver Lange (b. 2007) son of TV presenter Carrie Bickmore and Greg Lange
• Oliver Lennon (b. 2009) son of actor/comedian Thomas Lennon
• Oliver Michael Jacobs (b. 2011) son of actress Sarah Lancaster and Matthew Jacobs
• Oliver Egan (b. 2012) son of TV chef Kelsey Nixon and Robby Egan
• Oliver Neil Allen (b. 2013) son of singer Kris Allen
• Oliver Gunnar Franzén (b. 2013) son of ice hockey player Johan Franzen
• Oliver James "Ollie" Lanning (b. 2013) son of American family vloggers Bryan & Missy Lanning
• Oliver Finlay Dallas (b. 2014) son of actors Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas
• Oliver Levon Myers (b. 2016) son of singer Zach Myers of Shinedown
• Wyatt Oliver Olsen son of actor Eric Christian Olsen
• Oliver Francis Followill (b. 2018) son of American rock drummer Nathan Followill, brother to Violet Marlowe
• Oliver Julian "Ollie" Patrick (b. 2018) son of American YouTube personalities Matthew and Stephanie Patrick
• Oliver Rhett “Ollie” Fisher (b. 2020) son of YouTube personalities Kyler and Madison Fisher

Oliver in Pop Culture

• "Oliver Twist " novel by Charles Dickens and its main character
• Oliver cat in "Oliver & Company,"
• Oliver Barrett IV character in book/movie "Love Story"
• Cousin Oliver Tyler character on TV's "The Brady Bunch"
• Oliver Welles character on TV's "Slings and Arrows"
• Oliver Jonas "Ollie" Queen aka the Green Arrow DC Comics superhero
• Oliver Wendell Douglas main character on TV's Green Acres"
• Dr. Oliver Threadson character from season 2 of TV's "American Horror Story"
• Oliver Oaken character on TV's "Hannah Montana"
• Oliver Wood character in the Harry Potter series
• Oliver Rivers character in J.K. Rowling's "The Original Forty"
• Oliver Trask character on TV's "The OC"
• Oliver Bird character in Marvel Universe
• Oliver Melendy character in the Melendy series by Elizabeth Enright
• Oliver English Vocaloid voice bank
• Oliver character in Shakespeare's As You Like It
• Oliver Deacon character from video game 'Ace Attorney'
• Oliver a character in "Mighty Med"
• Oliver McKinley character in "Althea and Oliver" by Cristina Moracho
• Oliver Hampton character on TV's "How to Get Away with Murder,"
• Prince Oliver son of Queen Wendy & King Loki in Amanda Hocking's Trylle series short story Ever After
• Oliver Sullivan father of Cassiopeia & Samuel in "The 5th Wave"
• Oliver Tate character in book/movie "Submarine"
• Oliver main character in video game "Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch"
• Oliver character in the novel/film "Call Me By Your Name"
• Maxxie Oliver character from British TV series "Skins"
• Oliver's Army song by Elvis Costello
• Oliver "Olly" Bright character in Nicola Yoon's book/movie "Everything Everything"