Oliwia
A feminine name of Polish origin meaning "olive tree".
Name Census estimates that about 278 living Americans carry the first name Oliwia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oliwia today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oliwia births was 2006 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oliwia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Oliwia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
278
~ 1 in 1,232,929 Americans
Peak year
2006
24 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,850
Tracked since 1997
Census
Oliwia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 319 people with the first name Oliwia, which placed it at #28,252 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
#28,252
National first-name rank
People counted
319
319 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oliwia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oliwia is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Black (1.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Oliwia 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 Oliwia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.6% · 308
- Black or African American1.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 3
- Two or more races0.6% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Oliwia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oliwia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 130 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Oliwia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oliwia 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 Oliwia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oliwias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Oliwia, while New Jersey, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oliwia
Oliwia is a Polish given name derived from the Latin name Olivia, which in turn comes from the olive tree. The name Olivia stems from the Latin word "oliva," meaning "olive." The olive tree has been a symbol of peace, fertility, and prosperity in various cultures throughout history.
The name Oliwia gained popularity in Poland during the Middle Ages, likely influenced by the Latin name Olivia. It was particularly common among the nobility and upper classes, who often adopted names with Latin roots to reflect their education and cultural ties to the Roman Catholic Church.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Oliwia can be found in the 13th-century "Księga Henrykowska," a medieval chronicle written in Latin by a Cistercian monk from the Henryków Abbey in Silesia, Poland. The chronicle mentions a noblewoman named Oliwia, who lived during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Oliwia. One example is Oliwia Miłczewska (1550-1618), a Polish noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the development of her family's estates and was known for her charitable works.
Another historical figure with the name Oliwia was Oliwia Przeczkowska (1725-1801), a Polish painter and portraitist active in the late 18th century. Her works are considered important examples of Polish Rococo portraiture.
In the 19th century, Oliwia Zgierska (1841-1913) was a notable Polish educator and activist who dedicated her life to promoting women's education and advocating for Polish independence from foreign rule.
During the 20th century, Oliwia Kasprzak (1920-2002) was a Polish writer and journalist who chronicled the experiences of Polish civilians during World War II and the subsequent years under communist rule.
Oliwia Zabłocka (1946-2018) was a Polish actress and theater director who had a prolific career spanning over six decades. She was recognized for her contributions to Polish theater with numerous awards and honors.
While the name Oliwia has ancient roots and a rich historical legacy, it remains a popular choice for parents in Poland and among Polish communities worldwide, continuing the tradition of this beautiful and meaningful name.
People
Oliwia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oliwia 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
Oliwia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oliwia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 278 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oliwia 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 1,232,929 US residents.
Is Oliwia a common name?
We classify Oliwia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 281 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oliwia most popular?
The single biggest year for Oliwia was 2006, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oliwia is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oliwia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 319 people with the name Oliwia, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,252 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 Oliwia 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 Oliwia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oliwia leans strongly female. 324 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.8%). 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 Oliwia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oliwia is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Black (1.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Oliwia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Oliwia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (308 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 Oliwia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oliwia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oliwia 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 Oliwia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oliwia 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 Oliwia 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 share the name Oliwia?
Find out how many people share the name Oliwia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.