Olaf vs Paal
Olaf and Paalcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2005, Olaf was ranked #350 and Paal #439 among boys in Norway.
Olaf and Paal over time
Olaf and Paal appear together in 1 published list, across 55 years of shared records. Olaf held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Paal in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Olaf reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Paal in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Olaf and Paal changed places 8 times in Norway · Boys between 1945 and 2005, ending at #350 and #439.
- Longest-running competitions
Olaf and Paal were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 55 years, from 1945 to 2005, ending at #350 and #439.
List by list
Norway · Boys55 shared years, 1945–2005
Olaf held the stronger position in 34 of those years, Paal in 21.
Highest recorded here: Olaf #85 in 1946, Paal #144 in 1967.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2005: Olaf #350, Paal #439.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Olaf | Paal |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, IE, NO | NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #288 (2025) | Norway · Boys #439 (2005) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 40/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Olaf has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Paal.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Olaf
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #89 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #85 among boys in Norway, in 1946 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #2440 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys
Paal
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #183 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2005
Highest recorded position: #144 among boys in Norway, in 1967 (recorded 1945–2005).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2005
Most recently recorded at #439 among boys in Norway, in 2005.
Norway · Boys