Baby Name of the Day: Oliver

The baby name Oliver stands out as a favorite for boys, a classic that’s never been more in fashion.

Thanks to Lola for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME OLIVER MEAN?

Like many a medieval name, Oliver claims Germanic roots. It likely comes from Alfher or Alfihar, meaning elf army. Or maybe it’s cousin to the Old Norse Alvar, elf warrior.

Why were parents keen to name their children after elves? We’ve long considered elves supernatural creatures, capable of helping or harming mankind.

The fierce soldiers we meet in Tolkien’s novels seem closer to the mark that the Elf on the Shelf that visits households in December.

Now add olives.

Olive branches have long symbolized peace. The Latin word oliverus influenced the spelling of fierce Alfher. Or maybe two separate names merged into one. The French word for an olive tree is Olivier; that’s also the French form of the given name.

The idea of “olive branch bearer” softens the Germanic name’s roots.

Back in the 1100s, Olivier was friend and advisor to Roland in the famous French poem, best known as La Chanson de Roland. Cautious and wise Olivier serves as the foil for the daring – and sometimes reckless – hero, Roland.

The Normans brought the name to England, and while Oliver never reached the same heights of popularity as William or John, the name became widely used.

FAMOUS OLIVERS

Even though Oliver is a popular name now, it was actually an outlier – at least in English – for generations.

Still, there are plenty of notable uses.

• If you know your history – or even your Elvis Costello songs – Oliver Cromwell might come to mind. Cromwell led the overthrow of the monarchy in England – at least for a little while during the seventeenth century, serving as Lord Protector of England.
• Fast forward to 1838. Charles Dickens’ novels come with rich social commentary, and the author was also a tireless campaigner for social reform. Oliver Twist tells of an orphan born into poverty, almost always hungry and ill-treated, and then caught up in a life of petty crime. And yet, most of us know the bleak novel as the cheerful 1960 musical and 1968 film adaptation, Oliver! It won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Feel free to hum along to “Consider Yourself” as you read on.
• Speaking of novels, Erich Segal’s Love Story debuted in 1970, and became a runaway bestseller and then a smash hit movie starring a young Ryan O’Neal. O’Neal played privileged Harvard student Oliver Barrett IV, who fell for Ali McGraw as Jenny, whipsmart and street-smart scholarship student. Despite his family’s disapproval and all the conflict their different backgrounds bring, they marry. It’s tragic, romantic, and still widely read and watched and quoted, especially this line: “Love is never having to say you’re sorry.”

There’s a flood of famous people with the name Oliver by the 1980s, including:

• Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was a poet; his son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. became a Supreme Court Justice.
• Along with partner Stan Laurel, comedian  Oliver Hardy leapt from silent movies to talking films, becoming one of the most famous duos of the first half of the twentieth century, still widely recognized today.
• Acclaimed American filmmaker  Oliver Stone, known for movies like Platoon, JFK, Wall Street, and Nixon
• Often called Ollie North, the former Marine was embroiled in the Iran-Contra Affair, becoming a mainstay on the nightly news during the Congressional hearings into the scandal during the 1980s.
• American actor  Oliver Platt has enjoyed a long career in movies, film, and on stage. Platt even played an Oliver on The West Wing. You might know him as Uncle Jimmy on The Bear.
• The Green Arrow of DC Comics fame is also known as Oliver Queen. Superhero series Arrow probably helped boost the name earlier in the 2000s.
• Harry Potter brings to mind Quidditch captain Oliver Wood.

Oliver is also a surname, with the identical roots and meaning. You might think of jazz great King, celebrity chef Jamie, television personality John, or a dozen other athletes, actors, and other notables from various fields. 

CAN WE TALK ABOUT COUSIN OLIVER?

During the 1970s and 80s the baby name Oliver would have been read as traditional, but offbeat.

Proof? The Brady Bunch.

The smash hit television series debuted in 1969. As the six Brady kids reached young adulthood, the show introduced a new kid – Cousin Oliver, Carol’s nephew whose parents were living abroad. Not only did the new cast member fail to save the show – it was cancelled the same year – but it gave rise to the term “Cousin Oliver Syndrome,” used to describe the addition of a new baby to any long-running series.

Played by Robbie Rist, the character is meant to be darling and adorable, introducing all sorts of hilarious complications to the existing bunch of Bradys. He’s small and bespectacled and undeniably cute, but long-time fans of the show also saw him as an unwelcome distraction. If the other Brady kids had names that felt like mainstream favorites – Gregory, Peter, and Robert were solid, Top 100 choices in the era – Oliver was an outsider, in every sense of the word.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME OLIVER?

The baby name Oliver regularly ranked in the US Top 100 during the late 19th century.

It was relatively obscure from the 1960s into the 1980s.

Even in the year 2000, Oliver ranked a relatively frosty #305. 

But the name was on the rise. 

Oliver ranked among the fastest-rising boy names, entering the Top 100 in 2009 and galloping into the Top Ten in 2017. As of 2023, the baby name Oliver stands at #3, a rank it has held since 2019.

It’s not just the United States, either. The baby name Oliver is a Top Ten favorite in England, Scotland, and Sweden. It ranks among the 100 most popular baby boy names in Ireland, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, and elsewhere in Europe, too. 

By any standard, Oliver is a most popular name, indeed.

TRADITIONAL and FRESH

The baby name Oliver reads traditional and storied. We can think of plenty of famous figures across time, from the medieval epic to Dickens to the modern day. As a popular choice, it fits nicely with similar names like Theodore and Sebastian.

And yet, Oliver is different, too, at least compared to Robert, John, and Michael. That middle V sound is sharp and distinctive, but this name is long and flowing. Even as it occupies the Top Ten, it feels like a departure from twentieth century standards – and that is a winning formula.

What do you think of the baby name Oliver?

First published on November 30, 2008, this post was revised substantially and re-posted on April 14, 2014; May 23, 2018; December 30, 2020; and May 8, 2025.