Olav vs Rafal
Olav and Rafalcompared 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 2000, Olav was ranked #76 and Rafal #567 among boys in Norway.
Olav and Rafal over time
Olav and Rafal appear together in 1 published list, across 30 years of shared records. Olav held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Rafal in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Olav reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Rafal 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
Olav and Rafal changed places 4 times in Norway · Boys between 1968 and 2000, ending at #76 and #567.
- Longest-running competitions
Olav and Rafal were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 30 years, from 1968 to 2000, ending at #76 and #567.
List by list
Norway · Boys30 shared years, 1968–2000
Olav held the stronger position in 27 of those years, Rafal in 3.
Highest recorded here: Olav #52 in 1968, Rafal #79 in 1975.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2000: Olav #76, Rafal #567.
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 | Olav | Rafal |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | GB-ENW, IE, NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #10 (2025) | England and Wales · Boys #4107 (2023) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 94/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Olav and Rafal both have 2 syllables.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Olav
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #18 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: #9 among boys in Norway, in 2024 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #10 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys
Rafal
Popularity journey
First recorded1968
First recorded at #514 among boys in Norway in 1968 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1968–2000
Highest recorded position: #79 among boys in Norway, in 1975 (recorded 1968–2000).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2023
Most recently recorded at #4107 among boys in England and Wales, in 2023.
England and Wales · Boys