Oley
Anglicized spelling of a French surname of German origin, meaning uncertain.
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Oley. It is a predominantly male name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Oley today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oley births was 1922 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oley. 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
- • The typical person named Oley is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Oleys were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oley. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1922
15 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1964 SSA rank
#3,519
Tracked since 1883
Gender
Gender distribution for Oley
Oley leans heavily male at 98.7% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Oley as a male name
- Ranked #3,519 in 1964
- 7 male births in 1964
- Peak: 1922 (15 births)
Oley as a female name
- Ranked #4,055 in 1914
- 5 female births in 1914
- Peak: 1914 (5 births)
Popularity
Oley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oley from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 104 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oley 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 Oley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oley
The name Oley is believed to have its origins in the Old Norse language, originating in Scandinavia during the Viking Age (793-1066 AD). It is likely derived from the Old Norse word "ólafr," which means "ancestor's descendant." This name was popular among the Vikings and is thought to have been brought to other parts of Europe during their travels and conquests.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oley can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical tales and myths written in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the Saga of Erik the Red, there is a character named Oley Thorvaldsson, a Viking explorer who accompanied Erik the Red on his voyage to Greenland.
During the Middle Ages, the name Oley gained popularity in some parts of Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Germany. One notable individual with this name from this period was Oley Burman (1338-1390), a German theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Prague.
In the 16th century, the name Oley appeared in the records of the English Reformation. Oley Saxthorpe (1515-1583) was an English Protestant clergyman and scholar who played a role in the translation of the Geneva Bible.
As Europeans began to explore and colonize the Americas, the name Oley also made its way across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America is that of Oley Winstrup (1623-1679), a Swedish settler who established a homestead in what is now Pennsylvania.
Another notable individual with the name Oley was Oley Hanson (1813-1891), a Norwegian-American businessman and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in the mid-19th century.
While less common today, the name Oley has persisted throughout history and across various cultures, reflecting its ancient Scandinavian roots and the journeys of those who bore this name.
People
Oley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oley 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
Oley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oley 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Oley a common name?
We classify Oley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 378 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oley most popular?
The single biggest year for Oley was 1922, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oley is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Oley a male name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Oley 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.
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.