boys' name ★ peaked 2024

Oliver

Meaning ancestral + relic Gender Boy Rank 2025 #3 Trend ↑ Rising 12%

Inherited from Middle English Oliver, from Old French Olivier, by folk etymology derived from the Latin name Olīvārius, but probably representing an Old High German form…

Rank 2025
#3
among boys · unchanged vs 2024
Babies in 2025
14,963
named Oliver · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 114
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2024
15,421 babies
All-time total
270,680
#139 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Oliver popularity over time

270,680 babies have been named Oliver since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 2,287 2,287 229 – #67
1890s – 2,035 2,035 204 -11% #77
1900s 9 2,088 2,097 210 +3% #92
1910s 79 8,657 8,736 874 +317% #103
1920s 101 10,900 11,001 1,100 +26% #134
1930s 51 6,709 6,760 676 -39% #170
1940s 67 6,057 6,124 612 -9% #215
1950s 32 4,987 5,019 502 -18% #284
1960s 19 3,340 3,359 336 -33% #412
1970s 38 3,732 3,770 377 +12% #375
1980s 32 4,153 4,185 419 +11% #380
1990s 10 6,570 6,580 658 +57% #340
2000s 41 20,935 20,976 2,098 +219% #98
2010s 144 98,160 98,304 9,830 +369% #3
2020s (to 2025) 154 89,293 89,447 14,908 +52% #3

Where Oliver is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 15,244 8.92 #3
2027 15,507 9.08 #3
2028 15,735 9.21 #3
2029 15,931 9.33 #3
2030 16,100 9.43 #3

Where Oliver is most popular

Boys named Oliver per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 8.69 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, Wyoming, and Maine.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Oliver born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 175 27.9 +221%
Wyoming 116 20.1 +131%
Maine 388 20.0 +130%
Alaska 233 19.6 +125%
New Hampshire 405 18.2 +110%
South Dakota 308 16.6 +91%
North Dakota 281 16.5 +90%
Montana 282 16.0 +84%
Idaho 649 15.9 +83%
Utah 1,414 14.8 +71%
Oregon 1,105 14.6 +68%
Iowa 984 14.3 +64%
Nebraska 613 14.1 +62%
Rhode Island 229 14.0 +62%
Missouri 1,941 14.0 +61%
West Virginia 454 13.9 +60%
Wisconsin 1,628 13.7 +58%
Minnesota 1,649 13.4 +55%
Indiana 2,101 13.1 +51%
Colorado 1,666 12.9 +49%
Kansas 861 12.6 +45%
Washington 2,042 12.5 +44%
District of Columbia 182 12.3 +42%
Arkansas 780 12.3 +42%
Kentucky 1,215 12.1 +39%
Ohio 3,176 12.0 +38%
Delaware 174 11.5 +32%
Massachusetts 1,577 11.5 +32%
Oklahoma 1,008 11.4 +31%
Connecticut 765 11.3 +30%
Tennessee 2,014 11.2 +28%
Michigan 2,285 11.2 +28%
Hawaii 169 10.9 +25%
Illinois 2,729 10.7 +23%
Nevada 605 10.6 +22%
Virginia 1,960 10.3 +19%
Arizona 1,648 10.1 +16%
Pennsylvania 2,658 10.0 +15%
North Carolina 2,515 9.85 +13%
South Carolina 983 9.51 +10%
New Mexico 300 9.10 +5%
Maryland 1,074 9.01 ≈ national
Alabama 976 8.93 ≈ national
Florida 4,085 8.63 ≈ national
California 7,718 8.44 ≈ national
Georgia 2,063 8.14 -6%
Louisiana 822 8.04 -7%
New York 3,449 7.97 -8%
Texas 6,697 7.60 -12%
New Jersey 1,522 7.56 -13%
Mississippi 343 6.04 -30%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Oliver

Oliver is a top-10 name for boys in the United States, ranked #3 in 2025 with 14,939 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 270,680 American babies have been named Oliver. Its peak came in 2024, when 15,421 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Oliver stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Oliver?

The median living Oliver is about 7 years old; half are between 3 and 13. An estimated 232 thousand people named Oliver are alive in the United States today.

median 7 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Oliver year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 24 #5,359 14,939 #3
2024 25 #5,259 15,396 #3
2023 28 #4,840 14,792 #3
2022 28 #4,875 15,176 #3
2021 26 #5,060 14,713 #3
2020 23 #5,449 14,277 #3
2019 22 #5,749 13,967 #3
2018 19 #6,454 13,500 #5
2017 15 #7,748 13,224 #10
2016 18 #6,846 13,066 #12
2015 20 #6,406 11,670 #19
2014 13 #8,842 9,453 #32
2013 12 #9,472 7,276 #52
2012 9 #11,997 5,924 #73
2011 9 #11,923 5,414 #78
2010 7 #14,589 4,666 #88
2009 7 #14,828 4,287 #98
2008 11 #10,618 3,604 #118
2007 7 #15,070 2,910 #140
2006 – – 2,352 #173
2005 – – 1,794 #209
2004 6 #15,577 1,491 #228
2003 5 #17,690 1,375 #245
2002 5 #17,418 1,166 #268
2001 – – 978 #299
2000 – – 978 #305
1995 – – 597 #393
1990 – – 625 #373
1985 – – 371 #442
1980 7 #8,789 393 #414
1975 – – 355 #408
1970 – – 367 #428
1965 – – 303 #445
1960 – – 370 #413
1955 – – 508 #327
1950 – – 556 #284
1945 5 #5,069 558 #239
1940 7 #3,759 582 #215
1935 9 #3,102 647 #197
1930 9 #3,264 850 #170
1925 13 #2,737 1,049 #151
1920 11 #3,049 1,164 #135
1915 9 #3,070 1,131 #119
1910 – – 307 #103
1905 9 #1,392 211 #102
1900 – – 256 #95
1895 – – 216 #88
1890 – – 218 #81
1885 – – 258 #72
1880 – – 234 #69

Famous people named Oliver

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell English military and political leader (1599–1658) 16th century
  2. 2 Oliver Reed Oliver Reed English actor (1938–1999) Contemporary
  3. 3 Oliver Platt Oliver Platt American actor (born 1960) Contemporary
  4. 4 Oliver Stone Oliver Stone American filmmaker (born 1946) Contemporary
  5. 5 Oliver North Oliver North American military figure (born 1943) Contemporary
  6. 6 Oliver Kahn Oliver Kahn German footballer (born 1969) Contemporary
  7. 7 Oliver Sacks Oliver Sacks British neurologist and writer (1933–2015) Contemporary
  8. 8 Oliver Hardy Oliver Hardy American actor (1892–1957) 19th century
  9. 9 Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. US Supreme Court justice from 1902 to 1932 1841–1935 · 19th century
  10. 10 Oliver Tambo Oliver Tambo South African anti-apartheid activist and politician (1917–1993) Contemporary
  11. 11 Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard American army general (1830–1909) 19th century
  12. 12 Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry United States Navy officer (1785–1819) 18th century
  13. 13 Oliver Heaviside Oliver Heaviside British mathematician and electrical engineer (1850–1925) 19th century
  14. 14 Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. American poet, essayist, physician (1809–1894) 19th century
  15. 15 Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith Anglo-Irish writer (1728–1774) 18th century
  16. 16 Oliver Neuville Oliver Neuville German footballer (born 1973) Contemporary
  17. 17 Oliver Winchester Oliver Winchester American businessman and politician 1810–1880 · 19th century
  18. 18 Oliver Dragojević Oliver Dragojević Croatian singer (1947–2018) Contemporary
  19. 19 Oliver Nelson Oliver Nelson American composer and bandleader (1932–1975) Contemporary
  20. 20 Oliver Hirschbiegel Oliver Hirschbiegel German film director (born 1957) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Oliver, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Oliver?

The median living Oliver is about 7 years old. Half of all living Olivers are between 3 and 13 years old.

How many people named Oliver are alive today?

An estimated 232 thousand people named Oliver are alive in the United States, based on 270,680 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Oliver mean?

Inherited from Middle English Oliver, from Old French Olivier, by folk etymology derived from the Latin name Olīvārius, but probably representing an Old High German form of Old Norse Óleifr (“ancestral + relic”) (modern Danish…

How popular is the name Oliver in 2025?

Oliver ranked #3 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 14,939 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Oliver?

270,680 babies have been named Oliver in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Oliver most popular?

Oliver peaked in 2024, when 15,421 newborns received the name.

Is Oliver a boy or girl name?

Oliver is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Oliver rising or falling?

Oliver is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Oliver become more popular?

Oliver is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 16,100 boys named Oliver in 2030, which would rank around #3. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Oliver?

Well-known people named Oliver include Oliver Cromwell (politician), Oliver Reed (actor), Oliver Platt (actor).

Names like Oliver

Names that sound and feel close to Oliver: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Oliver with similar names → More names starting with O →