Oliver Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Oliver Name Meaning: Taken from the French name 'Olivier' meaning 'Olive tree'. May have also derived from the German name 'Alfihar' which means 'elf army'.

This name derives from the French word 'Olivier' which was brought over by the Normans. It was also the name of a knight in a popular 12th Century French poem.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Oliver Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Oliver family

Profession Census Frequency
Living On Own Means 288
General Labourer 265
General Servant Domestic 181
Scholar 177
Farmer 166
Dress Maker 157
Cook Domestic 130
Coal Miner Hewer 111
Domestic Servant 109
Agricultural Labourer 92
Housemaid Domestic 87
Bricklayer 66
Laundress Wash 63
Gardener Domestic 60
Dressmaker 59
Butcher 56
Servant Domestic 55
Carpenter 54
House Maid Domestic 54
Ordinary Agricultural Labourer 53
Charwoman 49
House Keeper 48
School 48
Coal Miner C Hewer 46
Draper Assistant 45

Oliver Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Oliver 100% 143,908
2 Lever 67% 17,877
3 Leaver 50% 13,312
4 Laver 67% 8,323
5 Olliver 86% 4,373
6 Olver 83% 4,173
7 Lover 67% 2,095
8 Liver 83% 969
9 Olivier 86% 620
10 Elver 67% 325
11 Levoir 33% 171
12 Aliver 83% 170
13 Lievre 33% 168
14 Oilver 67% 160
15 Alver 67% 109
16 Olever 83% 106

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The surname Oliver is the most popular version of all its varients

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