Oles
A masculine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "prosperous ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Oles. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oles today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oles births was 2022 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oles. 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 Oles. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2022
5 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,787
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Oles: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Oles 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 Oles during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Oles
The name Oles has its origins in Ukrainian and Russian cultures, derived from the Greek name Elias. It is a diminutive form of the name Oleg, which means "holy" or "prosperous." The name Oles gained popularity in the 10th and 11th centuries, particularly in the Kievan Rus region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oles can be found in the Primary Chronicle, an ancient Russian manuscript dating back to the 12th century. It mentions an individual named Oles, who was a prominent member of the Drevlian tribe.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Oles Dashkevych played a significant role in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was a military leader and statesman who served under King Casimir IV Jagiellon.
During the 17th century, Oles Fedorovych Khmelnytsky, the son of the famous Ukrainian Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, was a prominent figure in the Cossack Hetmanate. He briefly held the position of Hetman himself.
In the 19th century, Oles Honchar (1918-1995) was a renowned Ukrainian writer and public figure. He is best known for his novel "Sobor" (The Cathedral), which was a critical examination of the Soviet regime's treatment of Ukrainian culture and history.
Another notable bearer of the name Oles was Oles Buzyna (1969-2015), a Ukrainian journalist and writer. He was known for his pro-Russian views and was assassinated in Kyiv in 2015, an event that sparked controversy and discussions about freedom of speech in Ukraine.
While the name Oles has Ukrainian and Russian roots, it has also been used in other Slavic cultures, although with varying spellings and pronunciations. The name's connection to the Greek name Elias and its meaning of "holy" or "prosperous" have contributed to its enduring appeal across various cultures and time periods.
People
Oles + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oles 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
Oles: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oles?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oles 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 Oles a common name?
We classify Oles 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 Oles most popular?
The single biggest year for Oles was 2022, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oles is about 4 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Oles in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oles a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oles 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 Oles still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oles 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 Oles 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Oles?
See how many Americans are named Oles on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.