Olif
Olif is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Oleph, meaning "champion".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Olif. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Olif today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olif births was 1917 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olif. 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 Olif. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1917
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1917 SSA rank
#3,859
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Olif: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Olif 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 Olif during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Olif
The given name Olif has its origins in ancient Scandinavian languages. It is derived from the Old Norse word "ólyfr" which means "ancestor" or "forefather". The name first appeared in written records dating back to the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries AD.
Olif was a popular name among the Norse people who inhabited the modern-day regions of Scandinavia, including Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It was also commonly used in areas where the Vikings had settled, such as parts of Britain, Iceland, and Greenland.
The earliest known historical figure to bear the name Olif was Olif the Stout, a powerful Viking chieftain who lived in the late 9th century. He is mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written several centuries after his time but preserved stories and legends from the Viking era.
Another notable Olif from history was Olif Skaktavl, a Norwegian nobleman and military leader who lived in the 11th century. He played a significant role in the conflicts between the Norwegian and Danish kings during that period.
In the 12th century, Olif Haraldsson was a prince of Norway who was involved in a power struggle with his half-brother, King Sigurd I. Olif was eventually killed in battle in 1115, but his name lived on in Norwegian history.
During the Middle Ages, the name Olif was also found in various religious texts and chronicles. One such figure was Olif of Stavanger, a 13th-century Norwegian bishop who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
In the 15th century, Olif Tordsson was a Swedish noble and military commander who fought in the wars between Sweden and Denmark. He was known for his bravery and strategic skills on the battlefield.
While the name Olif has its roots in ancient Scandinavian cultures, it has been used throughout history in various parts of Europe and beyond. The name's meaning and historical significance reflect the values and traditions of the Viking Age and the influential role played by the Norse people in shaping the cultural landscape of the medieval world.
People
Olif + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olif 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
Olif: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olif?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olif 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 - US residents.
Is Olif a common name?
We classify Olif as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Olif most popular?
The single biggest year for Olif was 1917, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olif is about 0 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 Olif in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olif a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Olif 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 Olif still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olif 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 Olif 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 Olif?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.