Olivia
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Meaning
exact meaning not established by the sources behind this page; documented in English records with names written in Latin by the late 13th century, before Shakespeare
Goes by Liv, Livvy. See all nicknames
The story
Olivia's most famous chapter is not its beginning. Long before the countess in Twelfth Night, the name was already present in Latinized English records. A scholarly study places Olivia there by the late thirteenth century, which rules out the familiar claim that Shakespeare invented it.
One particularly clear trace comes from London in 1321, where the Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources records the Latin nominative form Olivia. That date is a firm surviving landmark, not a claim about the name's first-ever use. The records establish that Olivia came before the play without pretending to reveal its absolute beginning.
Then comes the literary Olivia. In Twelfth Night, Olivia is a named countess, and the play first appeared in print in the 1623 First Folio. That appearance did not create the name, but it gave Olivia a durable literary presence alongside the earlier records.
That distinction matters: Shakespeare did not give Olivia its birth, but scholarship does credit names he used with influencing England's naming pool in the seventeenth century and beyond. The play belongs to the name's reception, not its origin, and it cannot by itself explain any modern popularity chart. Olivia's story is more interesting than a coinage myth: a medieval documentary life followed by an unusually powerful literary afterlife.
Olivia in song
Olivia
One Direction (2015)
A sunny, Beatles-leaning song from One Direction's final album, co-written by Harry Styles, who has said Olivia need not be a girl at all and that it does not have to be so literal.
In literature since at least 1623: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare), 1623 First Folio.
How popular is Olivia around the world?
In the United States, 95,923 babies were named Olivia between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 368 girls were given the name Olivia in 2025.
Olivia is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Argentina, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, Austria, Ireland, England and Wales, New Zealand, France, New South Wales, Spain, Chile, Puerto Rico, Montevideo, Poland, Mexico City and Brazil.
Olivia crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 230
In the United States, 95,923 babies were named Olivia between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Olivia peaked in the 2020s. Olivia went to 19,738 US babies in 2015 and 13,554 in 2025, 69% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Norway
1 in 72register 2026
In Norway, 368 girls were given the name Olivia in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Argentina
1 in 98
In Argentina, 6,749 newborns were given the name Olivia in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Scotland
1 in 170
In Scotland, 266 girls named Olivia were registered in 2024, the 1st 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
South Australia
1 in 2102017
In South Australia, 86 girls were registered as Olivia 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
Canada
1 in 220
In Canada, 1,639 girls named Olivia were born in 2024, the 1st 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)
Austria
1 in 220
In Austria, 339 girls named Olivia were born in 2025, the 17th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
Ireland
1 in 240
In Ireland, 224 girls named Olivia were born in 2025, the 8th 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. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Olivia, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 250
In England and Wales, 2,386 girls named Olivia were born in 2025, the 1st 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
New Zealand
1 in 370
In New Zealand, 156 girls named Olivia 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
France
1 in 380
In France, about 1,685 girls named Olivia were born in 2025, the 19th most common name 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)
New South Wales
#3 · 2025
In New South Wales, 331 girls named Olivia were registered in 2025, ranked 3rd 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
Spain
#7 · 2024
In Spain, 25,934 residents are named Olivia, the 163rd most common name among women, with a mean age of 13.4 years.
In Spain, Olivia was the 7th most common name among girls born in 2024.
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
Chile
1 in 500
In Chile, 356 girls were registered as Olivia in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Puerto Rico
1 in 750
In Puerto Rico, 24 babies were named Olivia in 2025, and 177 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Montevideo City
1 in 9102011
In Montevideo, 27 girls named Olivia were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Poland
1 in 1,000
In Poland, 237 girls named Olivia were born in 2025, the 87th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Mexico City City
1 in 1,500
In Mexico City, there were 77 registrations of Olivia in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (4 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Brazil
1 in 3,700
At the 2022 census, 55,408 people in Brazil were named Olivia, the 528th most common name, with a median age of 18.
Among people named Olivia 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 13,718 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
When you meet Olivia
Most people given the name Olivia 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.
The Olivia deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Olivia 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 Olivia fits with your family’s names and surname.
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