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
Scholar 3,166
Agricultural Labourer 345
Coal Miner 275
General Labourer 252
Domestic Servant 214
Farmer 188
Dress Maker 179
Living On Own Means 154
General Servant Domestic 138
Living On Her Own Means 122
Laundress 122
Labourer 104
General Servant 103
Farm Labourer 99
Farm Servant 88
Carpenter 77
House Keeper 72
Gardener 71
Blacksmith 63
Cook Domestic Servant 58
Grocer 56
Clerk 56
Joiner 54
General Domestic Servant 48
Butcher 46

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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