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
School 2,553
Farm Labourer 224
Private Means 211
Coal Miner Hewer 200
Farmer 166
Labourer 155
General Labourer 153
General Servant (domestic) 132
Dressmaker 121
None 109
Domestic Servant 101
At Home 84
Clerk 84
Housekeeper 82
At School 77
House Keeper 73
Scholar 73
Laundress 70
Bricklayer 68
House Painter 68
Shop Assistant 65
Carpenter 63
Dress Maker 62
General Servant Domestic 56
Cook (domestic) 55

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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