Olivia: meaning and UK use

What does Olivia mean?

Shakespeare used this spelling in Twelfth Night. The reference offers Oliva, Oliver and Latin oliva as possible routes, rather than one settled derivation.

Language or name family covered

English; possible Latin connection

Meaning or derivation

Origin uncertain; associated with olive

Our browsing group

girl; classic

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Olivia

Pronunciation and related forms

oh-LIV-ee-uh (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Liv, Livvy, Livia. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Olivia?

In 2025, 2,386 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Olivia, making it the most popular girls’ name. That is the same position as in 2024. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 2nd, so it has climbed 1 place in a decade. That equals its highest ranking in the ONS series, which starts in 1996. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

1st

2025 registrations

2,386

Best rank in this series

1st (2025)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Olivia: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	1	2,386
2024	1	2,761
2023	1	2,906
2022	1	3,289
2021	1	3,649
2020	1	3,640
2019	1	4,082
2018	1	4,598
2017	1	5,204
2016	1	5,017
2015	2	4,853
2014	2	4,724
2013	2	4,598
2012	2	4,585
2011	2	4,938
2010	1	5,279
2009	1	5,201
2008	1	5,325
2007	3	4,814
2006	2	4,961
2005	4	4,282
2004	6	3,985
2003	8	4,024
2002	9	3,798
2001	10	4,001
2000	8	4,546
1999	4	5,250
1998	16	3,550
1997	19	2,789
1996	24	2,456

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 125,491. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Olivia in 2025: Olivia-Rose: 42 (girls); Olivia-Grace: 19 (girls); Olivia-Mae: 19 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Olivia

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Aishaclassic · Living or alive
• Ameliaclassic · A variant of Amalia
• Beatriceclassic · A form of Beatrix
• Charlotteclassic · A feminine form of Charles
• Claraclassic · Clear, bright or famous
• Evelynclassic · From the given name Aveline

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Olivia, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.