Oliver
Oliver was given to 14,939 boys in 2025, #3 among boys’ names; 270,680 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 230,000 Americans named Oliver and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (85% of everyone recorded); the median is 8 years old and half are between 4 and 14.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Oliver by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Oliver mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Oliver is “a male given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the senses “ancestral + relic” (Óleifr) and “all” (*ala-) and “true” (*wēraz).
Inherited from Middle English Oliver, from Old French Olivier, by folk etymology derived from the Latin name Olīvārius, but probably representing an Old High German form of Old Norse Óleifr (“ancestral + relic”) (modern Danish Olaf and Swedish Olof), or Proto-Germanic *ala- (“all”) + *wēraz (“true”) (modern Swedish allvar). Name of a paladin of Charlemagne in medieval French romance.
/ˈɑlɪvɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Oliver?
#3 among boys’ names, 2025
Oliver rose from #19 in 2015 to #3 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 6.1 to 8.7 per 1,000.
15,421 babies in 2024, the peak
Oliver peaked in 2024, when 15,421 babies were given it (15,396 boys, #3 among boys’ names). The 14,963 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 97% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14,939 | #3 | 8.7 |
| 2024 | 15,396 | #3 | 8.9 |
| 2023 | 14,792 | #3 | 8.6 |
| 2022 | 15,176 | #3 | 8.7 |
| 2021 | 14,713 | #3 | 8.4 |
| 2020 | 14,277 | #3 | 8.3 |
| 2019 | 13,967 | #3 | 7.8 |
| 2018 | 13,500 | #5 | 7.4 |
| 2017 | 13,224 | #10 | 7.1 |
| 2016 | 13,066 | #12 | 6.9 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 11,670 | #19 | 6.1 |
| 2014 | 9,453 | #32 | 4.9 |
| 2013 | 7,276 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 2012 | 5,924 | #73 | 3.1 |
| 2011 | 5,414 | #78 | 2.9 |
| 2010 | 4,666 | #88 | 2.4 |
| 2009 | 4,287 | #98 | 2.2 |
| 2008 | 3,604 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 2007 | 2,910 | #140 | 1.4 |
| 2006 | 2,352 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 1,794 | #209 | 0.90 |
| 2004 | 1,491 | #228 | 0.75 |
| 2003 | 1,375 | #245 | 0.70 |
| 2002 | 1,166 | #268 | 0.60 |
| 2001 | 978 | #299 | 0.50 |
| 2000 | 978 | #305 | 0.50 |
| 1999 | 782 | #340 | 0.41 |
| 1998 | 735 | #356 | 0.38 |
| 1997 | 669 | #367 | 0.35 |
| 1996 | 607 | #386 | 0.32 |
| 1995 | 597 | #393 | 0.31 |
| 1994 | 644 | #370 | 0.33 |
| 1993 | 665 | #355 | 0.34 |
| 1992 | 664 | #356 | 0.33 |
| 1991 | 582 | #390 | 0.29 |
| 1990 | 625 | #373 | 0.30 |
| 1989 | 460 | #439 | 0.23 |
| 1988 | 441 | #428 | 0.23 |
| 1987 | 460 | #405 | 0.25 |
| 1986 | 338 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1985 | 371 | #442 | 0.20 |
| 1984 | 397 | #416 | 0.22 |
| 1983 | 435 | #384 | 0.24 |
| 1982 | 455 | #380 | 0.25 |
| 1981 | 403 | #410 | 0.22 |
| 1980 | 393 | #414 | 0.22 |
| 1979 | 408 | #396 | 0.24 |
| 1978 | 422 | #375 | 0.26 |
| 1977 | 338 | #432 | 0.21 |
| 1976 | 337 | #424 | 0.21 |
| 1975 | 355 | #408 | 0.23 |
| 1974 | 347 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1973 | 374 | #403 | 0.24 |
| 1972 | 368 | #412 | 0.23 |
| 1971 | 416 | #396 | 0.24 |
| 1970 | 367 | #428 | 0.20 |
| 1969 | 328 | #437 | 0.18 |
| 1968 | 325 | #428 | 0.19 |
| 1967 | 291 | #444 | 0.17 |
| 1966 | 337 | #412 | 0.19 |
| 1965 | 303 | #445 | 0.16 |
| 1964 | 368 | #422 | 0.18 |
| 1963 | 357 | #427 | 0.18 |
| 1962 | 312 | #450 | 0.15 |
| 1961 | 349 | #425 | 0.16 |
| 1960 | 370 | #413 | 0.17 |
| 1959 | 370 | #414 | 0.17 |
| 1958 | 453 | #363 | 0.21 |
| 1957 | 452 | #358 | 0.21 |
| 1956 | 483 | #341 | 0.23 |
| 1955 | 508 | #327 | 0.25 |
| 1954 | 537 | #309 | 0.26 |
| 1953 | 521 | #313 | 0.26 |
| 1952 | 555 | #302 | 0.29 |
| 1951 | 552 | #293 | 0.29 |
| 1950 | 556 | #284 | 0.31 |
| 1949 | 597 | #272 | 0.34 |
| 1948 | 631 | #258 | 0.36 |
| 1947 | 624 | #271 | 0.34 |
| 1946 | 619 | #251 | 0.38 |
| 1945 | 558 | #239 | 0.41 |
| 1944 | 565 | #239 | 0.41 |
| 1943 | 668 | #217 | 0.47 |
| 1942 | 612 | #228 | 0.44 |
| 1941 | 601 | #219 | 0.49 |
| 1940 | 582 | #215 | 0.50 |
| 1939 | 598 | #203 | 0.54 |
| 1938 | 568 | #216 | 0.51 |
| 1937 | 609 | #200 | 0.57 |
| 1936 | 591 | #205 | 0.57 |
| 1935 | 647 | #197 | 0.62 |
| 1934 | 732 | #181 | 0.71 |
| 1933 | 595 | #199 | 0.60 |
| 1932 | 741 | #182 | 0.71 |
| 1931 | 778 | #175 | 0.75 |
| 1930 | 850 | #170 | 0.77 |
| 1929 | 886 | #163 | 0.82 |
| 1928 | 933 | #161 | 0.84 |
| 1927 | 1,002 | #157 | 0.89 |
| 1926 | 1,065 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1925 | 1,049 | #151 | 0.94 |
| 1924 | 1,172 | #140 | 1.0 |
| 1923 | 1,221 | #136 | 1.1 |
| 1922 | 1,214 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1921 | 1,194 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1920 | 1,164 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1919 | 1,209 | #128 | 1.2 |
| 1918 | 1,248 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1917 | 1,175 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1916 | 1,103 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1915 | 1,131 | #119 | 1.3 |
| 1914 | 861 | #122 | 1.3 |
| 1913 | 644 | #124 | 1.3 |
| 1912 | 646 | #117 | 1.5 |
| 1911 | 333 | #115 | 1.5 |
| 1910 | 307 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1909 | 246 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1908 | 207 | #122 | 1.3 |
| 1907 | 207 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1906 | 183 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1905 | 211 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1904 | 200 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1903 | 210 | #93 | 1.8 |
| 1902 | 181 | #107 | 1.5 |
| 1901 | 187 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1900 | 256 | #95 | 1.7 |
| 1899 | 161 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1898 | 186 | #102 | 1.5 |
| 1897 | 174 | #102 | 1.5 |
| 1896 | 194 | #99 | 1.6 |
| 1895 | 216 | #88 | 1.8 |
| 1894 | 222 | #88 | 1.9 |
| 1893 | 214 | #86 | 1.9 |
| 1892 | 238 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1891 | 212 | #77 | 2.1 |
| 1890 | 218 | #81 | 2.0 |
| 1889 | 210 | #84 | 1.9 |
| 1888 | 206 | #88 | 1.7 |
| 1887 | 203 | #80 | 2.0 |
| 1886 | 230 | #75 | 2.1 |
| 1885 | 258 | #72 | 2.4 |
| 1884 | 245 | #74 | 2.1 |
| 1883 | 219 | #72 | 2.1 |
| 1882 | 244 | #72 | 2.1 |
| 1881 | 238 | #67 | 2.4 |
| 1880 | 234 | #69 | 2.1 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Oliver a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Oliver has been given almost only to boys: 777 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Oliver: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Oliver, and how old are they?
230,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 85% of the 270,680 Americans ever recorded as Oliver. The median Oliver alive today is 8 years old; half are between 4 and 14.
The 2020 Census counted 146,493 people named Oliver (655 women and girls, 145,838 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 148,372 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,160 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,940 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,110 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,780 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 38,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 170,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Oliver born?
The states with the most babies named Oliver are California, Texas and Florida, with 24% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,456 | #7 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 1,361 | #7 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 831 | #5 | 0.9× |
| New York | 703 | #5 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 653 | #1 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 545 | #4 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 541 | #3 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 507 | #3 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 469 | #3 | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 432 | #6 | 0.8× |
Where Oliver is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Oliver is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Oliver with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 273,475 babies since 1880, Oliver is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 14,963 of their 15,053 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Oliver
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Oliver and names like it
- Compare Oliver and OlivierBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sOliver peaked in 2024.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Oliver since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Oliver: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2024The year the most babies were named Oliver.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Oliver alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with OMost given first.