Olav

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 16 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Olav is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name7.6K records spelled Olav3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, United States, Sweden, Canada

  Also written Olåv, Ólav

• French given name834 records spelled Olav3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Norway, Spain, Netherlands

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Olåv

• Russian given name580 records spelled Olav18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Latvia, Norway, Ukraine

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Олаф, Olaf, Олав, Улав, Улаф

43 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Over time●

NO SSB — Navn (1880–present) — 81 years between 1945–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Olaf II of Denmarkb. 1370NOnot in their usual nameKing of Denmark and Norway
• Olaus Magnusb. 1490SEnot in their usual nameSwedish writer
• Olav Bjaalandb. 1873NONorwegian skier and Antarctica explorer (1873-1961)
• Olav Kiellandb. 1901NONorwegian musician (1901–1985)
• Olav Vb. 1903NOking of Norway (1903-1991)
• Olav Sundeb. 1903NOathletics competitor (1903–1985)
• Jon Fosseb. 1959NOnot in their usual nameNorwegian writer, theater writer and translator
• Johann Olav Kossb. 1968NONorwegian speed skater
• Evan Rossb. 1988USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor
• British DJb. 1997GBnot in their usual nameNorwegian electronic dance music producer (born 1997)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 232 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Olav?

We estimate roughly 20 thousand people bear Olav (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Olav have the most bearers?

We estimate about 15 thousand people bear Olav in Norway, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled olav.

Where is Olav most common?

Olav is densest in Norway, where the national register counts about 1 in 371 people carrying it.

How common is Olav compared with other names?

In Norway, Olav is the 47th most common given name of 38,312 given names recorded there.

Is Olav a male or female name?

Olav is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Olav mean?

Recorded meaning: a male given name from Old Norse