Olaf

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Olaf or Olav is a Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as *Anu-laibaz, from anu "ancestor, grand-father" and laibaz "heirloom, descendant". Old English forms are attested as Ǣlāf, Anlāf.

From Wikipedia

Olaf first appears in the data in 1880 and has been recorded in 144 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1916 with 79 babies (rank #669 that year). In 2024 it was given to 5 boys (rank #13,645). The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Olaf

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Olaf yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

7Destiny numberThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
7Soul urgeThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
9PersonalityThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

2,525

Total babies (all years)

144

Years in the data

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Frozen: Olaf — the snowman who likes warm hugs

Famous people named Olaf

Olaf Scholzpolitician · b. 1958
Olaf Stapledonscience fiction writer · b. 1886
Olaf II of Norwaymonarch · b. 995
Olaf I of Norwaywarrior · b. 960
Olaf Thonsports columnist · b. 1966

Share your Olaf story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Olaf in 2024

Other boys' names starting with O

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1880	11	#592
1881	7	#758
1882	13	#532
1883	17	#443
1884	20	#410
1885	21	#393
1886	17	#445
1887	14	#476
1888	12	#599
1889	17	#458
1890	14	#528
1891	15	#466
1892	12	#630
1893	8	#813
1894	16	#514
1895	11	#664
1896	13	#623
1897	13	#609
1898	13	#627
1899	9	#765
1900	8	#1,024
1901	9	#763
1902	12	#678
1903	9	#828
1904	8	#940
1905	8	#982
1906	19	#537
1907	21	#534
1908	23	#534
1909	9	#1,062
1910	14	#850
1911	13	#965
1912	40	#678
1913	46	#665
1914	55	#692
1915	71	#697
1916	79	#669
1917	74	#712
1918	60	#853
1919	49	#968
1920	43	#1,084
1921	50	#1,000
1922	33	#1,276
1923	34	#1,251
1924	31	#1,350
1925	38	#1,162
1926	35	#1,238
1927	35	#1,241
1928	33	#1,265
1929	25	#1,471
1930	31	#1,297
1931	24	#1,446
1932	18	#1,762
1933	19	#1,628
1934	15	#1,908
1935	19	#1,639
1936	17	#1,706
1937	10	#2,431
1938	15	#1,876
1939	22	#1,450
1940	13	#2,059
1941	17	#1,736
1942	10	#2,484
1943	16	#1,886
1944	13	#2,056
1945	15	#1,834
1946	18	#1,737
1947	8	#3,029
1948	14	#2,090
1949	13	#2,195
1950	12	#2,289
1951	11	#2,461
1952	17	#1,919
1953	17	#1,943
1954	12	#2,399
1955	15	#2,112
1956	12	#2,457
1957	15	#2,164
1958	10	#2,761
1959	21	#1,789
1960	17	#2,018
1961	15	#2,209
1962	18	#1,941
1963	15	#2,176
1964	23	#1,684
1965	14	#2,237
1966	17	#1,944
1967	18	#1,884
1968	21	#1,768
1969	16	#2,198
1970	21	#1,975
1971	19	#2,184
1972	14	#2,628
1973	20	#2,103
1974	7	#4,493
1975	21	#2,184
1976	8	#4,301
1977	16	#2,756
1978	9	#4,069
1979	13	#3,305
1980	13	#3,380
1981	8	#4,834
1982	9	#4,486
1983	5	#6,998
1984	7	#5,411
1985	5	#7,292
1986	11	#4,052
1987	10	#4,484
1988	11	#4,377
1990	9	#5,695
1991	18	#3,422
1992	9	#6,007
1993	7	#7,390
1994	12	#5,032
1995	8	#6,815
1996	10	#5,851
1997	9	#6,477
1998	9	#6,692
1999	7	#8,466
2000	7	#8,866
2001	11	#6,320
2002	13	#5,640
2003	11	#6,598
2004	6	#10,951
2005	18	#4,778
2006	19	#4,812
2007	13	#6,513
2008	22	#4,495
2009	17	#5,480
2010	20	#4,798
2011	15	#5,871
2012	15	#5,906
2013	9	#8,582
2014	22	#4,493
2015	18	#5,220
2016	10	#7,995
2017	8	#9,453
2018	7	#10,433
2019	9	#8,683
2020	7	#10,297
2021	7	#10,486
2022	6	#11,912
2023	5	#13,605
2024	5	#13,645