Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Oliver?
Births per year, rank history and how many Olivers are alive today.
Oliver is one of the ten most popular boys' names in England and Wales, ranked 3rd in 2024 with 3,492 babies given the name. The name peaked in 2010, when it was the most popular boys' name outright, given to 8,427 babies. Oliver fell out of the top 100 after 1904 and returned in 1974, a classic revival pattern. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 160,000 babies have been named Oliver in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Common short forms of Oliver include Ollie and Oliwier.
The Oliver you are most likely to meet is around 17 years old. Half of all Olivers born in England and Wales are between 13 and 34, and there are at least 220,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 52% chance that at least one of them will be called Oliver.
How many babies are named Oliver each year?
Where does Oliver rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Oliver most popular?
Oliver peaked in 2010, when 8,427 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Oliver?
At least 220,000 people named Oliver born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Oliver?
Most living Olivers are between 13 and 34; the most common age is about 17.
Is Oliver becoming more or less popular?
Reviving: it has returned to the top 100 after time away.