How Many People Are Named Olaf?
An estimated 997 people in the United States have the first name Olaf. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 47 years old, and Olaf peaked in popularity in 1916 with 79 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Olaf as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Olaf paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
997
About 1 in 343,786 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
47
years old
Peak Year
1916
79 births
Total Registered
2,525
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Olaf
Olaf is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 2,525 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Olaf as a male name
Ranked #13,645 in 2024
5 male births in 2024
Peak: 1916 (79 births)
Olaf: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Olaf span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1910s, when 501 babies were registered. Olaf has declined significantly from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Olaf by Decade
How has Olaf tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Olaf by State
Birth registrations for Olaf span all 9 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Minnesota, North Dakota, New York. The lowest are in Washington, Montana, Iowa. On average, about 45 Olafs were registered per state.
Olaf + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Olaf as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Olaf
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
Olaf: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olaf?
We estimate approximately 997 people named Olaf are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 343,786 Americans share this first name.
Is Olaf a common name?
Olaf is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 90.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 2,525 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Olaf most popular?
Olaf reached peak popularity in 1916, when 79 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Olaf is approximately 47 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Olaf a male name?
Olaf is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Olaf Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Olaf Smith, Olaf Johnson, Olaf Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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