Given name · also Old Norse
Olaf
“the last of the ancestors”
Olaf is used as a given name. One interpretation is “the last of the ancestors.”
Original Old NorseAnleifr
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “the last of the ancestors.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
Its Old Norse formation brings together anu (“ancestor”) and leifr (“heir, descendant”).
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
Olaf through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,531
- 2,531 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1916
- 79 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,369 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −32%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,369 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 31.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 79 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,504 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Olaf’s family of names
In Danish usage, Olaf has a short form in Ole. In English usage, Olaf shares a linguistic root with the Norwegian Bokmål form Olav. In German usage, Olaf has a conventional equivalent in the Norwegian form Ola.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Olaf has relatives in 32 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 19
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 29
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- AnleifrOld Norse
- Óláfrroot · Old Norse
- Olivercognate · English
- Auleyequivalent
- Olafsen“son of” surname · English
- Olavoalso known as · Portuguese, Italian
- Olaoalso known as · Italian
- Uolevicognate · Finnish
Show 21 moreShow fewer
- Olaugfeminine form · Norwegian
- Olawequivalent
- Oliffequivalent
- OlafsLatvian
- Ô-lápVietnamese
- AmhlaibhScottish Gaelic
- AmhlaighScottish Gaelic
- AmhlaidhScottish Gaelic
- AmhladhScottish Gaelic
- Åållažsms
- Åʹllsms
- OvlláNorthern Sami
- ओलाफMarathi
- AuleeManx
- OlafasLithuanian
- Amlaíbmga
- Amhlaoibhsee also · Irish, Scottish Gaelic
- ÓlafurIcelandic
- ÓlavurFaroese
- OlevEstonian
- OlauCatalan
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Olaf
- Olaf ScholzGerman politician (SPD), ninth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (2021–2025), Member of the Bundestagborn 1958
- Olaf HaraldssonKing of Norway from 1015 to 1028995–1030
- Olaf TryggvasonKing of Norway960–1000
- Olaf ThonGerman association football player and managerborn 1966
- Olaf I of DenmarkKing of Denmark1050–1095
- Olaf III of NorwayKing of Norway1050–1093
- Olaf BullNorwegian poet (1883–1933)
- Olaf TufteNorwegian rower (1976–2026)
- Olaf MarschallGerman association football player and manager (1966–)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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