boy's name
Olivier
o-lee-VYAY
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 4
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 308,055
Canada
#148
2024 births
Olivier is a boy's name usually taken as olive tree, though the character who made it famous — Roland's companion in the Song of Roland — may carry a Norse name meaning elf army instead. It charts in five markets.
- Olivier is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1971, when 15,525 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 13,100 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 4 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Olivier over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 1,510 |
| 1910s | 1,580 |
| 1920s | 2,220 |
| 1930s | 1,740 |
| 1940s | 3,035 |
| 1950s | 14,390 |
| 1960s | 81,635 |
| 1970s | 115,290 |
| 1980s | 41,800 |
| 1990s | 11,570 |
| 2000s | 3,715 |
| 2010s | 1,485 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 395 |
What Olivier means
Olivier is generally given as olive tree, from the Latin. A competing derivation makes it a Frankish rendering of the Norse Áleifr, elf army, in which case the olive connection is a later reshaping.
Where Olivier comes from
Olivier has two candidate sources and the argument is old. The straightforward reading takes it from the Latin oliva, an olive tree, the branch being the emblem of peace. The alternative sees it as a French adaptation of the Norse Áleifr — the name behind Olaf, from anu, ancestor, and leifr, heir, though popularly read as elf army — reshaped by scribes who heard the Latin word in it. What is certain is the bearer: Olivier is Roland's companion and counterweight in the Song of Roland, the one who urges caution against Roland's pride, and the pairing gave French a proverb about wisdom matched to courage.
Olivier in use
Olivier peaked in France in 1971, when 15,525 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 736th in Scotland, 863rd in France on 45 births, 869th in Ireland, 980th in England and Wales on 31 and 2539th in the United States on 52, across 308,055 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. That is unusually wide reach for a French name of this period, most of which stayed home.
How popular is Olivier?
In 2025, Olivier was given to 45 babies in France, ranking #863 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Olivier is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Olivier
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Olivier also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Olivier over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Olivier
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Olivier in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- American English
- Ollyver
- Belgian French
- Ollivier
- Catalan
- Oliver
- Croatian
- Oliver
- Czech
- Oliver
- Estonian
- Oliver
- Finnish
- Oliver
- Flemish Dutch
- Ollivier
- Galician
- Olivio
- German
- Oliver
- Macedonian
- Oliver
- Serbian
- Oliver
- Slovak
- Oliver
- Slovene
- Oliver
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Olyver
Sibling names for Olivier
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Olivier — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Olivier
What does the name Olivier mean?
Usually olive tree, from the Latin — though it may instead be a French form of the Norse name behind Olaf.
Is Olivier the same as Oliver?
Yes, the French and English forms of the same name, with the same unresolved origin.
Who was Olivier in the Song of Roland?
Roland's companion, who urges caution against Roland's pride — the pairing became a French proverb.
How popular is Olivier?
863rd in France, and it charts in five of the six markets we track.
Is Olivier a girl's or a boy's name?
Olivier is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Olivier?
Olivier has 4 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Olivier?
Olivier is usually shortened to Oli, Olive and Liv.
Is Olivier a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Olivier currently ranks #148 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.