Ollie
A diminutive form of Oliver, derived from the Old French name meaning "olive tree".
Name Census estimates that about 13,149 living Americans carry the first name Ollie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Ollie today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ollie births was 1919 (1,345 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ollie. 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
- • Ollie was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,067 Americans
Peak year
1919
1,345 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,044
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Ollie
Ollie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 58,974 total registrations, 17,414 (29.5%) were male and 41,560 (70.5%) were female.
Ollie as a male name
- Ranked #1,044 in 2024
- 211 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1919 (369 births)
Ollie as a female name
- Ranked #2,256 in 2024
- 83 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1919 (976 births)
Popularity
Ollie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ollie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 11,133 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
Ollie 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 Ollie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ollies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the most babies named Ollie, while Nevada, Idaho, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 989 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ollie
The name Ollie is a diminutive form of the male given name Oliver, which has its roots in the Old French and Old German languages. The name Oliver is derived from the Old German name Alfihar, which is a compound of the elements "alf" meaning "elf" and "hari" meaning "army" or "warrior." Therefore, the name Ollie can be interpreted as "the elf warrior" or "the elf soldier."
In the Middle Ages, the name Oliver gained popularity across Europe, particularly in France and England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Old French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland" (The Song of Roland), written in the late 11th century. In this literary work, Oliver is depicted as a brave and loyal knight who fights alongside the legendary hero Roland.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Oliver or its diminutive form, Ollie. One of the most famous was Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), an English military and political leader who played a significant role in the English Civil War and served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Another prominent Ollie was Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894), an American physician, poet, and author, best known for his literary works such as "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" and "The Deacon's Masterpiece."
In the world of sports, Ollie Matson (1930-2011) was an American professional football player who excelled as a running back and kick returner for various teams, including the Chicago Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams.
Moving to the realm of entertainment, Ollie Johnston (1912-2008) was a renowned American animator and one of the core animators at Walt Disney Studios, known for his work on classic films like "Bambi," "Cinderella," and "The Jungle Book."
Lastly, Ollie Reed (1938-1999) was an English actor known for his intense and often controversial roles in films like "Women in Love," "The Devils," and "Castaway."
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who have carried the name Ollie, a diminutive form with a rich heritage and a connection to the idea of a brave and valiant warrior.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Ollie
People
Ollie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ollie 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
Ollie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ollie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ollie 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 26,067 US residents.
Is Ollie a common name?
We classify Ollie as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58,974 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ollie most popular?
The single biggest year for Ollie was 1919, when 1,345 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ollie is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ollie a female name?
Yes, 70.5% of people registered as Ollie 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.
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.