The baby name Olin blends sounds from Oliver and Owen, with a dash of Nolan, too.
Thanks to Leitia for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
MEANING and ORIGIN of OLIN
The baby name Olin has several possible origins and meanings.
It can come from same Old Norse roots that led to Olaf and Ole. In that case, the name means “ancestor’s descendant” or, for simplicity’s sake, “heir.” It’s a name that suggests legacy and continuity.
Ohlin occurs as a surname in Sweden, too. The exact meaning and origin remain uncertain.
Some connect Olin to a Germanic word meaning wealth, making Olin a cousin to Otto, Otis and similar names.
In several Slavic languages, Olen means stag – a male deer.
Olan is also a Spanish surname, derived from a Spanish word referring to decorative frills on women’s clothing. It became a surname for those who made or sold such clothing.
One last possibility: Olen was a poet in the ancient world.
While there are plenty of competing origins and meanings, Olin feels like a Scandi heritage pick.
HOW POPULAR IS OLIN?
The baby name Olin appeared in the US Top 1000 every year from 1880 through 1959, hovered on the edge for a few years, then left entirely after 1964.
As for other spellings:
- Olen charted consistently from 1889 to 1955, with a few years before and after. 39 boys were named Olen in the most recent year.
- Olan ranked in the Top 1000 on and off from 1901 through 1931. In 2023, 30 boys received the name.
In more recent years, Olin has increased modestly in use. From 31 births in the year 2000 to 81 births in 2023, it’s far from common, but no longer declining in popularity.
FAMOUS FIGURES NAMED OLIN
For years, families had their portraits taken at Olan Mills studios, founded in 1938 by a photographer and entrepreneur by the name.
Actress Lena Olin, daughter of Swedish actor Stig Olin, is a famous figure with the surname.
Athletes, politicians, artists, and others answer to various spellings of the name.
Now Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have named their fourth child, and first son, Olin. He joins sisters Betty, Inez, and James.
QUIRKY, VINTAGE, OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM
The first version of this post, written in 2012, described the baby name Olin as “quirky, vintage, and decidedly outside of the mainstream.” Olin was a brother for Aldis and Elva, not Lucy and Miles.
That’s every bit as true now. Olin is smooth and polished, a name that shares sounds with Oliver and Owen, Noah and Cole. It rhymes with Nolan, but has a whole different vibe somehow.
What do you think of the baby name Olin?
First published on April 18, 2012, this post was revised on July 31, 2024.
Hi. My name is Olin. As a kid i hated my name. Now i love it cause its different.
All I can see when I hear Olin is the NFL center Olin Kreutz, whom I had the fun of watching play as a UW Husky. Sounds like a massive offensive lineman to me!! 😉
I know a teenage Olin! It’s also a street in my town. I don’t think it’s a particularly attractive name, and I feel like it’d be mistaken for Owen a whole lot.
Olin was a happy accident discovery for me. I was at work and meant to type online, but typed Oline as a typo and realized that Olin must have history as a name. I look it up and confirmed that Olin has been used as a name.
Unclear origins aside, I sort of like it. It’s like Owen and Oliver.
If my family had keep its a patronymic surname, my maiden name would be Olson and my Great-grandma was named Oline, so I’ve considered Oliver… But Olin makes me think of O-Lan from the novel the Good Earth (possibly since Lotus was a NOTD last week.) She’s so pitiful and broken-down that I have trouble imaging the name on a baby.
I studied in a number of Olin Libraries. Olin and Carnegie would make an offbeat sibset. Even if you also used Melvyl (or Melville) and Elsie (L.C.), a lot of people wouldn’t necessarily catch on. Then there’s Dewey, the ubiquitous name stateside for library cats.
Hmm, makes me think of Lena Olin, but I can see the appeal as a first name, especially for a boy. It would make a nice alternative to Owen.
My first thought too! It gives the name a somewhat feminine vibe for me. Olin also makes me think of Odin, a name friends of mine recently used on their son.
All of our family portraits from the 70s and 80s have Olan Mills’ logo in the corner. That almost makes it feel like a family name to me.
I immediately think of Olan Mills and my best friend’s grandmother, Ola. It seems rather doughy to me.