Olivier

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 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◐

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

• English given name203K records spelled Olivier8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Netherlands, Canada, United States, Belgium

  Languages: English, Western Frisian, Dutch

  Also written Oliviér, Ölïvîër

• a separate given name7.6K records spelled Olivier2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Switzerland, Canada, Belgium

  Also written Olivíer

• Danish given name3.8K records spelled Olivier8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland

  Languages: Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Swedish

  Also written Oliviér

90 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.

Other recorded senses●

Olivier is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, From Latin, meaning “olive” (olive tree).

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, olive tree

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, du nom germanique Alfhari, de alf « elfe » et hari « armée ».

  as a name·Dictionnaire des noms de famille du Canada français. Anthroponymie et généalogie. 2e édition

• In French, Du latin oliva, « olivier, olive »; patronyme/nom donné d’après l’arbre symbolique. Fête: 12 juillet (saint Olivier).

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Du latin oliva/olivarius, lié à l’olivier; symbolique de paix, continuité familiale et transmission. Fête: souvent 12 juillet/3 mai selon calendriers.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

RE INSEE — Fichier des prénoms (births by department), dpt 974 (Réunion) — 106 years between 1902–2024. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Napoleon Hillb. 1883USnot in their usual nameAmerican author (1883-1970)
• Olivier Messiaenb. 1908FRFrench composer, organist and ornithologist (1908–1992)
• Olivier Rabourdinb. 1959FRFrench actor
• Olivier Barouxb. 1964FRFrench actor, humorist and film director
• Olivier Martinezb. 1966FRFrench actor
• Olivier Dahanb. 1967FRFrench film director
• Olivier Besancenotb. 1974FRFrench politician
• Olivier Schneiderb. 1982FRpresident of the French Federation of Users of Bicycle (FUB)
• Olivier Giroudb. 1986FRFrench footballer (born 1986)
• Sébastien Buemib. 1988CHnot in their usual nameSwiss professional racing driver

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 · 1,057 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Olivier?

We estimate roughly 301 thousand people bear Olivier (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Olivier have the most bearers?

We estimate about 280 thousand people bear Olivier in France, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled olivier.

Where is Olivier most common?

Olivier is densest in France, where the national register counts about 1 in 242 people carrying it.

How common is Olivier compared with other names?

In France, Olivier is the 41st most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Olivier a male or female name?

Olivier 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 Olivier mean?

Recorded meaning: I. Sir Laurence, British actor; pers.