Olive
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The story
At 121 Railton Road in Brixton, Olive Morris lived as a squatter and helped make the flat more than a place to sleep. English Heritage says she hosted study groups there, including a Black women's group, and helped other people facing housing need. The address became a practical point of learning and organizing, though the hardships around housing should not be romanticized. Morris's activism is one bearer's history, not symbolism hidden inside her name. Olive comes from the English and French word for the tree, ultimately from Latin oliva. The botanical root alone does not prove a universal meaning of peace, nor does it predict communal spirit. Keeping those strands separate preserves both. A tree-name can have a clean etymology, while a particular Olive can turn one London address into a place where people read, meet, and seek help together.
How popular is Olive around the world?
In the United States, 10,030 babies were named Olive between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 91 girls named Olive were registered in 2025.
Olive is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, England and Wales, South Australia, Scotland, New South Wales, Canada, Ireland, France, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 2,200
In the United States, 10,030 babies were named Olive between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Olive peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 630
In New Zealand, 91 girls named Olive were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 660
In England and Wales, 892 girls named Olive were born in 2025, the 47th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 9702017
In South Australia, 19 girls were registered as Olive in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 1,100
In Scotland, 41 girls named Olive were registered in 2024, the 106th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New South Wales
#68 · 2025
In New South Wales, 105 girls named Olive were registered in 2025, ranked 68th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Canada
1 in 2,000
In Canada, 182 girls named Olive were born in 2024, the 151st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 3,200
In Ireland, 17 girls named Olive were born in 2025, the 247th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 girls named Olive were born in 2025, ranked 1,348th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 235 people in Brazil were named Olive, ranked 22,666th, with a median age of 4.
Among people named Olive living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 101 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 1.1M
In Spain, 40 residents are named Olive, ranked 17,170th among women, with a mean age of 45.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2023
Olive is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2020
Olive is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Olive
Most people given the name Olive in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Olive · Names that go with Olive · Nicknames for Olive · Middle names for Olive
The Olive deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Olive truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Olive fits with your family’s names and surname.
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