Given name & surname · also Norse, Hawaiian
Ola
“one who is precious”·“giver of life: well-being”·“a relic of one's ancestors”
Ola is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who is precious”, “giver of life: well-being”, “a relic of one's ancestors”, and “a wealthy man; an honored child”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who is precious”, “giver of life: well-being”, “a relic of one's ancestors”, and “a wealthy man; an honored child”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Hawaiian and African naming traditions.
How it developed
From Yoruba Ọlá, from Spanish Ola, from Basque ola (“forge”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ola through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 30,275
- 624 boys · 29,651 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 772 babies
- 2025
- 13
- #8,227 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 8,227 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 8.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 755 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,832 as a first name in 2020; 760 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ola’s family of names
In Polish usage, Ola is a diminutive of Aleksandra. In Polish usage, Ola has a conventional equivalent in the German form Alex. Ola has a related form in Olaf.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ola has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ola
- Ola AinaNigerian footballer (born 1996)
- Ola UllstenSwedish politician, prime minister of Sweden between October 1978 and October 1979 (1931–2018)
- Ola Vigen HattestadNorwegian cross-country skierborn 1982
- Ola JohnDutch association football playerborn 1992
- Ola BrownBritish-Nigerian medical doctor, healthcare entrepreneurborn 1986
- Ola Solbakkenassociation football playerborn 1998
- Ola LindgrenSwedish handball playerborn 1964
- Ola KamaraNorwegian footballerborn 1989
- Ola By RiseNorwegian footballer and managerborn 1960
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ola, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Zula
“one who is brilliant; from the town of Zula”
>99% girls
Oneida
“our longawaited daughter”
>99% girls
Una
“one who is pure; chaste”
>99% girls
Thora
“thunder”
>99% girls
Almeta
“one who is ambitious” · “resembling a pearl”
>99% girls
Retta
“he has triumphed”
>99% girls
Waneta
“one who changes; a shapeshifter”
>99% girls
Signe
“a victorious man”
>99% girls