Oline
An English feminine name derived from the Old Norse name Olina.
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Oline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oline today is around 91 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oline births was 1917 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oline. 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 Oline is about 91 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Olines were born before 1945.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oline. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1917
21 babies that year
Average age
91
years old
1945 SSA rank
#5,069
Tracked since 1884
Popularity
Oline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oline from the 1880s through to the 1940s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 119 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oline 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 Oline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oline
The name Oline is a feminine given name of Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse name Olina, which itself is a diminutive form of the name Olin. The name Olin is believed to be a shortened version of the Old Norse name Óláfr, which means "ancestor's descendant" or "ancestor's relic."
Oline was a popular name in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Sweden, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. It was commonly used among the Norse and Viking communities, and its earliest recorded use can be traced back to the 10th century.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Oline can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which are a collection of stories and historical accounts written in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name appears in several of these sagas, often given to female characters of noble or influential families.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Oline. One such person was Oline Brüggemann (1840-1919), a Norwegian painter and illustrator who was known for her vivid landscapes and depictions of rural life in Norway.
Another prominent figure was Oline Langen (1809-1884), a Norwegian educator and pioneer in women's rights. She was instrumental in establishing one of the first formal schools for girls in Norway and advocated for equal educational opportunities for women.
In the field of literature, Oline Bjørnsen (1833-1909) was a celebrated Norwegian author and poet. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the struggles of rural life in Norway during the 19th century.
Moving further back in history, Oline Rosenkrantz (1518-1584) was a Danish noblewoman who played a significant role in the Danish Reformation. She was a supporter of the Protestant movement and helped to facilitate the spread of Lutheranism in Denmark.
Lastly, Oline Eriksdotter Longaker (1680-1768) was a Swedish-American immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. She is notable for being one of the earliest Swedish settlers in the area and played a role in the establishment of the Swedish Lutheran Church in the region.
People
Oline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oline 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
Oline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oline 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Oline a common name?
We classify Oline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 377 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oline most popular?
The single biggest year for Oline was 1917, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oline is about 91 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 Oline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oline in the SSA data are female. 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 Oline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oline 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 Oline 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 common is the name Oline?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Oline at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.