Olle
A short form of the Scandinavian masculine given name Olof or Olav.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Olle. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Olle today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olle births was 2015 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olle. 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 Olle with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Olle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2015
7 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2020 SSA rank
#4,968
Tracked since 1916
Gender
Gender distribution for Olle
Olle is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 17 total registrations, 12 (70.6%) were male and 5 (29.4%) were female.
Olle as a male name
- Ranked #13,516 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2015 (7 births)
Olle as a female name
- Ranked #4,968 in 1916
- 5 female births in 1916
- Peak: 1916 (5 births)
Popularity
Olle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Olle from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Olle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Olle 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 Olle 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 Olle
The name Olle is of Swedish origin, with roots dating back to medieval times. It is a diminutive form of the Old Norse name Ólafr, which itself derives from the Old Norse elements "anu" meaning "ancestor" and "laf" meaning "descendant, heir." The name gained prominence in Scandinavia during the Viking Age, roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Olle can be found in the 13th-century Icelandic saga "Njal's Saga," where it appears as a character's name. This literary work provides valuable insights into the cultural and linguistic landscape of medieval Scandinavia.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Olle. One such figure was Olle Engkvist (1487-1551), a Swedish clergyman and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Sweden. Another prominent bearer of the name was Olle Hedberg (1899-1939), a Swedish actor and film director renowned for his contributions to the early years of Swedish cinema.
In the realm of sports, Olle Åkerlund (1927-2000) was a Swedish ice hockey player who represented Sweden in the 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the latter. Olle Bexell (1909-2004), on the other hand, was a Swedish sailor who competed in the 1936 and 1948 Summer Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the latter.
The name Olle also gained recognition in the literary world through the works of Olle Hedberg (1899-1981), a Swedish author and playwright known for his satirical depictions of Swedish society. His plays and novels, such as "The Minister's Wife" and "The Goat Boy," became critical successes and contributed to the cultural landscape of 20th-century Sweden.
These examples illustrate the rich history and enduring presence of the name Olle across various fields and time periods. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Scandinavia, the name has transcended its regional boundaries and left an indelible mark on the cultural tapestry of Sweden and beyond.
People
Olle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olle 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
Olle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olle 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Olle a common name?
We classify Olle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Olle most popular?
The single biggest year for Olle was 2015, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olle is about 9 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 Olle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olle a male name?
Yes, 70.6% of people registered as Olle 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 Olle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olle 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 Olle 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 Olle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.