Olivia
- Pronunciation
- [O-li-vi-a]
- Gender
- Female
- Meaning
- Associated with Latin oliva, 'olive'
- Origin
- Latin
Meaning and history of Olivia
Olivia is associated with Latin oliva, the word for olive. Its precise formation is not completely settled: references discuss Oliva, Oliver, and a direct connection with the Latin word. “Olive” is therefore a useful association, while a claim that every use has one certain derivation would be too strong.
Shakespeare used the spelling Olivia for a character in Twelfth Night. The name was already rare in his period, so “used and popularized by Shakespeare” is safer than claiming that he unquestionably invented it. The former Romanian origin label did not describe the linguistic history presented here.
The spelling is used in multiple languages. Decide on the pronunciation and everyday shortened forms your family prefers; neither an etymology nor a popularity rank determines those choices.
Etymology references: Behind the Name, Olivia. Reviewed October 27, 2026. Popularity evidence is shown separately below.
By Marvin Tang. Popularity figures use an imported selection of SSA records; SSA does not supply name meanings or etymologies. Editorial references, where available, are listed with the name explanation. Sources and coverage.
Quick Facts About Olivia
US Popularity History (1990–2025)
Annual imported US counts for Olivia by recorded sex, from US Social Security Administration records. Highest count in the imported records: 2014 with 19,836 girls named Olivia (girl rank #2 that year).
Latest imported observation: in 2025, ranked #1 for girls (13,544 imported records). That's 1 places above its earlier 2014 peak — the latest stored rank is higher than its rank at the highest observed count; rank and count measure different things.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Coverage: imported US Social Security card-application records, not a complete birth census. Historical coverage is narrower, including top-100 selection before 2000; recent imports also use catalog and rank filters. Missing rows can reflect those filters or source privacy limits and must not be read as zero or fewer than five uses. Spellings and recorded sex are kept separate.
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Look up Olivia across states
Compare this exact spelling in one year and recorded sex list. Missing state records remain unknown.
Observed State Ranks for Olivia
Average girl-name rank across the same 2016–2025 window, limited to 51 jurisdictions with every year imported. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name rankings. This is an ordinal comparison, not a per-capita rate. States with missing years are excluded. For Olivia the lowest observed averages are in Illinois, Washington, Connecticut.
Lowest observed average rank
| # | State | Avg rank | Imported count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | #1 | 6,444 |
| 2 | Washington | #1 | 4,004 |
| 3 | Connecticut | #1 | 1,994 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | #1 | 2,099 |
| 5 | Colorado | #1 | 2,973 |
| 6 | Utah | #1 | 2,394 |
| 7 | Oregon | #2 | 1,911 |
| 8 | Arkansas | #2 | 1,487 |
| 9 | Arizona | #2 | 3,990 |
| 10 | Kansas | #2 | 1,687 |
Highest observed average rank
| # | State | Avg rank | Imported count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | #10 | 206 |
| 2 | Wyoming | #6 | 223 |
| 3 | Alaska | #5 | 367 |
| 4 | South Dakota | #5 | 407 |
| 5 | West Virginia | #4 | 793 |
| 6 | Kentucky | #4 | 2,067 |
| 7 | District of Columbia | #4 | 424 |
| 8 | New Mexico | #3 | 803 |
| 9 | Maine | #3 | 566 |
| 10 | Montana | #3 | 462 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. Only states with all 10 annual observations for this spelling and recorded sex are compared. Missing states are excluded, not assigned zero. Average rank measures position in state rankings, not a per-capita rate. Local import filters and SSA privacy limits can both create gaps. Coverage and limitations.
Related Forms in This Catalog
Open each form for its own meaning, language history, and exact-spelling usage records.
Famous People Named Olivia
1 notable figure from history and culture who share the name Olivia.
- Olivia Wilde — TV Actress (1984)
Looking for names like Olivia?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Olivia to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Olivia against names with the largest imported counts for girls-name peers (top 8 with every year imported, 2016–2025). Names with missing annual observations are excluded from this comparison.
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