Ola
Masculine
Ola is given to girls far more often — 29,651 girls against 624 boys since 1880. See Ola as a girl name
Ola is a short, open name that was common in the American South and Midwest in the late nineteenth century. It carries very different meanings in different places: in Yoruba it is 'honor' and 'wealth', and in Norway it is a man's name.
How old is the name Ola?
Ola first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Ola alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. Fewer than a hundred people named Ola are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
When was the name Ola most popular?
Ola peaked in 1889, reaching #628 nationally. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Ola
Ola was a familiar girls' name in the American record from its first years. Ola Babcock Miller was elected Iowa's secretary of state in 1932, the first woman to hold the office, and used it to create the state's highway safety patrol. In Yoruba ọlá, 'honor, wealth', opens dozens of names — Olamide, Olabisi, Olawale — and Ola is used on its own in Nigeria and among Nigerian families abroad. The spelling is recorded for a handful of American boys too, and in Norway it is a boy's name.
Meaningscholars disagree
A short form of names such as Viola or Leola; in Yoruba, 'honor, wealth'
In nineteenth-century America Ola was most likely a short form of longer names. In Yoruba ọlá means 'honor, wealth' and begins many names; in Scandinavia Ola is a man's form of Olaf. The spelling serves all three.
Pronouncing Ola
OH-luh
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 192024 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #628reached in 1889
- Change vs 1976
- −28.6%5 in 1980, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ola in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ọlá in Yoruba — related form
- Ola in Norwegian — same name
- Viola in English — related form
Olas among us
Fewer than a hundred people named Ola are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ola sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, open and easy to say in any language.
- A long American history.
- Carries a warm meaning in Yoruba.
- In Norway and Sweden it is a man's name.
- People may assume it is a short form and ask for the full name.
- It reads as a nineteenth-century name in America.
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Ola
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Olas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. Fewer than a hundred people named Ola are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
- How popular is the name Ola in 2025?
- Ola is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Ola with classmates?
- Ola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Oliver#3 · Owen#31 · Oscar#223 · Omar#260 · Otis#652 · Orlando#871 · Otto#277 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ola? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ola and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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