Olbin
A masculine name derived from the Old Norse name "Öleifr".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Olbin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Olbin today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olbin births was 2009 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olbin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Olbin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2009
5 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,929
Tracked since 2009
Census
Olbin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 197 people with the first name Olbin, which placed it at #38,754 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#38,754
National first-name rank
People counted
197
197 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
94.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olbin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olbin is Hispanic at 94.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Black (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Olbin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Olbin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.4% · 186
- White2.0% · 4
- Black or African American2.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 3
Popularity
Olbin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Olbin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Olbin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Olbin
The given name Olbin is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, spanning from the 8th to the 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "alfr," meaning "elf" or "supernatural being," and the suffix "-binn," which may have been used to denote a characteristic or quality.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Olbin can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval literary works that document the lives and exploits of the Norse settlers in Iceland during the 10th and 11th centuries. The name appears to have been quite rare, even in those times, suggesting that it may have held a special significance or been associated with certain families or lineages.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable figures who bore the name Olbin. One of the earliest was Olbin the Scribe, a 9th-century monk from the monastery of St. Gall in modern-day Switzerland. He was renowned for his calligraphic skills and contributed to the preservation of numerous ancient manuscripts and texts.
Another notable bearer of the name was Olbin Reinert (1573-1638), a German composer and organist who served as the court musician to the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg in the early 17th century. His works, which include motets and organ pieces, were highly regarded during his lifetime and contributed to the development of the German Baroque musical tradition.
In the 18th century, Olbin Kolbjørnsen (1711-1785) was a prominent Norwegian farmer and landowner from the Gudbrandsdalen valley. He played a significant role in the local community and was respected for his leadership and agricultural expertise.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Olbin Nolde (1834-1912) was a German painter and etcher associated with the Realist movement. His works, which often depicted scenes of rural life and landscapes, were highly acclaimed and can be found in numerous art museums and galleries across Europe.
Finally, in the 20th century, Olbin Olsen (1889-1964) was a Norwegian businessman and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the shipping industry and later established the Olsen Foundation, which supported various charitable causes, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare.
It is worth noting that while the name Olbin has a rich historical background, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout the centuries. This rarity may have contributed to its enduring mystique and the sense of distinction associated with those who bear this unique moniker.
People
Olbin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olbin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Olbin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olbin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olbin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Olbin a common name?
We classify Olbin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Olbin most popular?
The single biggest year for Olbin was 2009, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olbin is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Olbin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 197 people with the name Olbin, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,754 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Olbin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Olbin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Olbin appears almost entirely male. Of the 197 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Olbin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olbin is Hispanic at 94.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Black (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Olbin most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Olbin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (186 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Olbin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olbin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Olbin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Olbin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olbin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Olbin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Olbin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.