Olivander
A masculine name derived from the French surname Olivandier, meaning "olive maker".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Olivander. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Olivander today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olivander births was 2023 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olivander. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2023
23 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,810
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Olivander: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Olivander from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 79 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Olivander by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Olivander during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Olivander
The name Olivander has its origins in the ancient Germanic language, tracing back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old High German words "oli" meaning "olive tree" and "wander" meaning "to roam or wander." The combination of these words suggests a connection to the olive tree and a nomadic or wandering lifestyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Olivander can be found in the Codex Sangallensis, a 9th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Saint Gall in modern-day Switzerland. The manuscript mentions an individual named "Oliwander" who was a traveling merchant.
During the Middle Ages, the name Olivander appeared sporadically in various European regions, particularly in areas with Germanic cultural influences. In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk named Olivander von Trier was known for his contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Olivander Weissmann was a prominent trader and explorer from the Hanseatic League. He was born in 1432 in Lübeck and is recognized for his travels to the Baltic region and beyond.
Moving into the Renaissance period, Olivander Visconti, born in 1501 in Milan, was a renowned Italian architect and engineer who played a significant role in the design and construction of several notable buildings in Northern Italy.
Another historical figure bearing the name Olivander was Olivander Keller, a Swiss clockmaker born in 1687 in Geneva. He is credited with inventing a new type of escapement mechanism that significantly improved the accuracy of mechanical clocks.
In the 19th century, Olivander Bauernfeind, born in 1825 in Bavaria, was a German philosopher and educator who advocated for educational reforms and the importance of hands-on learning.
While the name Olivander is relatively uncommon in modern times, it has a rich historical lineage dating back to the ancient Germanic world, carrying connotations of wanderlust, olive trees, and a connection to nature and exploration.
People
Olivander + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olivander as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Olivander: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olivander?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olivander going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Olivander a common name?
We classify Olivander as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Olivander most popular?
The single biggest year for Olivander was 2023, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olivander is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Olivander in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olivander a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Olivander in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Olivander still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olivander in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Olivander can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Olivander?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.