How rare is the name Oliver?

146,493 people in the United States have the first name Oliver, about 1 in 2,062. It ranks #379 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

OLIVER

#379

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
146,493
About
1 in 2,062
This common or more
53.3%
Who bears it

Of the 146,493 people named Oliver, 65.2% reported their origin as White, 18.5% as Hispanic or Latino and 6% as two or more races. Virtually all are male (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Oliver peaked in 2024, when 15,421 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2024
Births that year
15,421
In 2025*
14,963 ▼3%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 270,680 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Oliver by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #4. The largest share of babies named Oliver, 63.4%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#1912,287
1890s#2812,035
1900s#3242,097
1910s#2938,736
1920s#34011,001
1930s#4376,760
1940s#5346,124
1950s#7265,019
1960s#9553,359
1970s#9083,770
1980s#9164,185
1990s#7696,580
2000s#35220,976
2010s#4198,304
2020s#489,447
Before 19011.7%
Greatest Generation 1901–277.3%
Silent Generation 1928–454.5%
Baby boom 1946–643.4%
Generation X 1965–802.1%
Millennials 1981–963%
Generation Z 1997–1214.5%
2013 and later63.4%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Oliver is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Oliver has been most common in Utah (2.1×), Nevada (2×), and Alaska (1.9×), and least common in West Virginia (0.64×).

259,841 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Oliver

#377 Erika · 147,434#378 Gina · 147,074#380 Cathy · 146,470#381 Ricky · 146,356

Spelled almost the same

4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Oliver, most common first.

#4,608 Olivier · 3,990#23,465 Olivera · 417#43,336 Olver · 163#52,900 Olivero · 104

Also a last name

As a last name, Oliver ranks #278 of 156,621, with 109,817 people. See Oliver as a last name

Compare