Ole

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Ole: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Ole: Recorded every year since 1945, it reached #6 in 1979, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
105times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#6highest recorded position
27groupings it qualifies for
33names it appears alongside

What stands out in Ole's record

Ranked every year since 1945, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 81 years running. Names by top-100 run
Held at least one birth in every 2,000 for 23 years. Names by sustained share
Appears alongside 33 other names across 6 kinds of recorded relationship. All recorded relationships

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1998–2022

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1998	#2901
1999	#1383
2000	#3036
2001	#3134
2002	#1253
2003	#1771
2004	#3651
2005	#2754
2006	#4052
2007	#1756
2008	#1156
2009	#1265
2010	#1911
2011	#2039
2012	#2270
2013	#2403
2014	#2459
2015	#3908
2016	#2335
2017	#3449
2018	#3959
2019	#1745
2021	#3017
2022	#4789

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in every year from 1945 to 2025.

In 2022: #80 among boys in Norway, #4789 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #16 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: #6 among boys in Norway, in 1979 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #52 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys

Ole appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Boys, which has ranked it in 81 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 31,226 births with the name.

Ole across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Ole's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Boys	#16 (1945)	#6 (1979)	#52 (2025)	81 of 81	31,226 (1945–2025)	630 (1966)
England and Wales · Boys	#2901 (1998)	#1156 (2008)	#4789 (2022)	24 of 25	190 (1998–2022)	21 (2008)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In Norway · Boys the name reached its highest position, #6, in 1979, when 433 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1966 — 630 — in a year it ranked #8.

Ole by decade in Norway · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Ole in Norway · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	2,422	5 of 10	484
1950s	4,905	10 of 10	491
1960sbusiest	5,598	10 of 10	560
1970s	4,561	10 of 10	456
1980s	4,337	10 of 10	434
1990s	4,725	10 of 10	473
2000s	2,548	10 of 10	255
2010s	1,467	10 of 10	147
2020s	663	6 of 10	111

Across Norway · Boys, the 1960s were its busiest decade, averaging 560 births a year.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Ole appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #6 in Norway in 1994.

Ole's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2022	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#3017	6	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1745	13	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3959	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#3449	5	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2335	9	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#3908	4	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2459	8	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2403	8	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2270	9	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#2039	10	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1911	11	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1265	19	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1156	21	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1756	11	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#4052	3	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2754	5	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#3651	3	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1771	8	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1253	12	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#3134	3	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#3036	3	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1383	9	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2901	3	High	Verified
2025	Norway	male	#52	135	High	Verified
2024	Norway	male	#55	128	High	Verified
2023	Norway	male	#65	106	High	Verified
2022	Norway	male	#80	85	High	Verified
2021	Norway	male	#54	113	High	Verified
2020	Norway	male	#63	96	High	Verified
2019	Norway	male	#58	118	High	Verified
2018	Norway	male	#60	125	High	Verified
2017	Norway	male	#63	119	High	Verified
2016	Norway	male	#59	134	High	Verified
2015	Norway	male	#64	136	High	Verified
2014	Norway	male	#54	151	High	Verified
2013	Norway	male	#34	197	High	Verified
2012	Norway	male	#57	150	High	Verified
2011	Norway	male	#58	147	High	Verified
2010	Norway	male	#40	190	High	Verified
2009	Norway	male	#44	185	High	Verified
2008	Norway	male	#34	206	High	Verified
2007	Norway	male	#26	237	High	Verified
2006	Norway	male	#30	217	High	Verified
2005	Norway	male	#33	213	High	Verified
2004	Norway	male	#26	262	High	Verified
2003	Norway	male	#24	267	High	Verified
2002	Norway	male	#20	311	High	Verified
2001	Norway	male	#20	313	High	Verified
2000	Norway	male	#19	337	High	Verified
1999	Norway	male	#11	407	High	Verified
1998	Norway	male	#7	440	High	Verified
1997	Norway	male	#10	431	High	Verified
1996	Norway	male	#8	480	High	Verified
1995	Norway	male	#10	450	High	Verified
1994	Norway	male	#6	482	High	Verified
1993	Norway	male	#7	477	High	Verified
1992	Norway	male	#6	526	High	Verified
1991	Norway	male	#9	513	High	Verified
1990	Norway	male	#9	519	High	Verified
1989	Norway	male	#9	512	High	Verified
1988	Norway	male	#9	452	High	Verified
1987	Norway	male	#13	395	High	Verified
1986	Norway	male	#10	443	High	Verified
1985	Norway	male	#7	438	High	Verified
1984	Norway	male	#11	399	High	Verified
1983	Norway	male	#9	407	High	Verified
1982	Norway	male	#7	428	High	Verified
1981	Norway	male	#7	433	High	Verified
1980	Norway	male	#7	430	High	Verified
1979	Norway	male	#6	433	High	Verified
1978	Norway	male	#9	428	High	Verified
1977	Norway	male	#10	380	High	Verified
1976	Norway	male	#10	426	High	Verified
1975	Norway	male	#9	439	High	Verified
1974	Norway	male	#13	430	High	Verified
1973	Norway	male	#10	486	High	Verified
1972	Norway	male	#9	527	High	Verified
1971	Norway	male	#12	506	High	Verified
1970	Norway	male	#12	506	High	Verified
1969	Norway	male	#12	534	High	Verified
1968	Norway	male	#12	548	High	Verified
1967	Norway	male	#13	534	High	Verified
1966	Norway	male	#8	630	High	Verified
1965	Norway	male	#12	553	High	Verified
1964	Norway	male	#10	588	High	Verified
1963	Norway	male	#12	541	High	Verified
1962	Norway	male	#9	562	High	Verified
1961	Norway	male	#11	549	High	Verified
1960	Norway	male	#10	559	High	Verified
1959	Norway	male	#11	535	High	Verified
1958	Norway	male	#14	501	High	Verified
1957	Norway	male	#12	484	High	Verified
1956	Norway	male	#11	507	High	Verified
1955	Norway	male	#13	472	High	Verified
1954	Norway	male	#12	475	High	Verified
1953	Norway	male	#12	462	High	Verified
1952	Norway	male	#11	476	High	Verified
1951	Norway	male	#10	510	High	Verified
1950	Norway	male	#12	483	High	Verified
1949	Norway	male	#13	474	High	Verified
1948	Norway	male	#13	500	High	Verified
1947	Norway	male	#15	496	High	Verified
1946	Norway	male	#15	507	High	Verified
1945	Norway	male	#16	445	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Norway hub — collected by Statistics Norway (SSB)

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 81 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #6, first reached in 1979.

It held a top-100 place in 81 years, 81 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 630 births, registered in Norway in 1966.

1 registrar ranked it inside their own top 10.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1998, and 53 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Olava · #154, 19y
Olayinka · #3227, 14y
Ole-Christian · #324, 25y
Ole-Jørgen · #347, 24y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Johannes · #6, 81y
Arne · #5, 81y
Ellinor · #7, 81y
Espen · #8, 81y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Ada · #6, 76y
Aksel · #6, 81y
Berit · #6, 72y
Bjørg · #6, 70y

Comparisons involving Ole

Existing comparison pages where Ole and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Ole in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Ole vs Rolf
In 1945 they stood at #16 and #15 in Norway · Boys, 1 places apart; by 2025 they were #52 and #437.
Ole · Rolf · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Ole vs Odd
In 1945 they stood at #16 and #9 in Norway · Boys, 7 places apart; by 2025 they were #52 and #413.
Ole · Odd · 80 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Ole vs Tore
In 1945 they stood at #16 and #12 in Norway · Boys, 4 places apart; by 2025 they were #52 and #368.
Ole · Tore · 79 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Closest long-running positions

Names that stayed close to Ole within one registrar's list over many years. A gap measured inside that list, never across registrars.

Lars vs Ole
Across 81 shared years in Norway · Boys, Lars and Ole averaged 9.1 places apart, ending at #90 and #52.
Lars · Ole · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Ole vs Erik
Across 81 shared years in Norway · Boys, Ole and Erik averaged 13.2 places apart, ending at #52 and #64.
Ole · Erik · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Ole and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Sander vs Ole
In 1998, Sander moved ahead of Ole in Norway · Boys — #23 and #10 the year before became #3 and #7.
Sander · Ole · 51 shared years, 1968–2025 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1998 Norway ranking
Henrik vs Ole
In 1999, Henrik moved ahead of Ole in Norway · Boys — #8 and #7 the year before became #6 and #11.
Henrik · Ole · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1999 Norway ranking
Theo vs Ole
In Norway · Boys, Theo moved into the top 50 at #34 in 2014 as Ole fell out of it to #54, having been #34 the year before.
Theo · Ole · 36 shared years, 1986–2025 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 2014 Norway ranking

Compared inside Norway lists

Pairs involving Ole measured in Norway's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Ole at its highest position.

Ole vs Kåre
In 1945 they stood at #16 and #21 in Norway · Boys, 5 places apart; by 2025 they were #52 and #358.
Ole · Kåre · 75 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Ole vs Helge
In 1945 they stood at #16 and #22 in Norway · Boys, 6 places apart; by 2025 they were #52 and #352.
Ole · Helge · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Ole vs Steinar
In 1945 they stood at #16 and #19 in Norway · Boys, 3 places apart; by 2025 they were #52 and #345.
Ole · Steinar · 77 shared years, 1945–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Norway overview→

Ole was ranked #6 in Norway · Boys in 1979. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Ole and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Ole without appearing here.

Ole moved ahead of

Graeme Compare
In 2008 they stood at #4052 and #2870 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #1265 and #4527.
Jade Compare
In 2008 they stood at #3651 and #3651 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #1265 and #4527.
Maddison Compare
In 2006 they stood at #4052 and #3385 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #1756 and #4333.
Malin Compare
In 2006 they stood at #4052 and #3385 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #1756 and #4333.

Moved ahead of Ole

Kasper Compare
In 2003 they stood at #1771 and #2857 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #3651 and #1347.
Espen Compare
In 2021 they stood at #3017 and #3451 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #4789 and #3449.
Madison Compare
In 2021 they stood at #3959 and #4749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #4789 and #3449.
Leif Compare
In 2020 they stood at #1745 and #2104 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #3017 and #1782.

Moved the opposite way to Ole

Aksel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 while Aksel went from #174 to #25.
Daniel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 while Daniel went from #280 to #66.
David Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 while David went from #167 to #88.
Emil Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 while Emil went from #271 to #2.

Moved the same way as Ole

Anders Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 and Anders from #55 to #293.
Arild Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 and Arild from #32 to #489.
Arne Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 and Arne from #6 to #222.
Bjørn Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Ole went from #16 to #52 and Bjørn from #3 to #56.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #6 in Norway in 1994. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Ole

Ole at a glance

What stands out in Ole's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ole across 2 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Ole by decade in Norway · Boys

Ole appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Ole

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Ole

Ole and the names beside it

Ole moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ole

Moved the opposite way to Ole

Moved the same way as Ole

Ole at a glance

What stands out in Ole's record

Ole across 2 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Ole by decade in Norway · Boys

Ole appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Ole

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Ole

Ole and the names beside it

Ole moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ole

Moved the opposite way to Ole

Moved the same way as Ole