The Meaning, History and Origin of the Name Olivia

History: Historically, The name Olivia has ranked consistently around 250th compared to other women's names. Alternate forms Olive and Oliver were far more popular in the early 20th century, though both began to decline in popularity in the decades leading up to 1940. In the 1980's, Olivia began to grow in popularity. In the 1990's the name continued to grow in popularity, reaching the number 38 ranking. In recent years, Olivia has become one of the most common girls names in the United States. Today, Olivia is one of the most popular names in the United States, currently ranking number 7 in the Social Security Administration's list of top ten names for 2007 (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames).

Facts About Olivia:

The name "Olivia" was created by Shakespeare for the heroine of the comedy Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night (1599) is one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays, addressing themes of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and love. In the play, Duke Orisino woos the beautiful and remote Olivia through his servant, "Cesario", who, unbeknownst to the other characters, is actually a woman, Viola, in disguise. When Olivia falls in love with Cesario/Viola, and Cesario/Viola falls in love with Orsino, a tangled web of desires is set up that is eventually resolved by the appearance of Viola's identical twin brother, Sebastian. Early in the play, Orsino describes Olivia lyrically, "O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first ... That instant was I turn'd into a hart; And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, E'er since pursue me."

The travel company Olivia is a cruise company targeted towards women.

835 Olivia is the name of an asteroid native to the Main Belt.

Olivia, Minnesota is known as the corn capital of the world.

Ian Falcnor's children's book series follows an adorable piglet named Olivia. In the first book in the series, when Olivia's mother tells her daughter, "You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway," Olivia replies, "I love you anyway too."

Famous Olivias:
Olivia (singer), is an American R&B singer, who was born with the name Olivia Longott
Olivia de Havilland (actress) was the leading actress in Gone With the Wind
Olivia Newton-John is an Australian singer and actress, most famous for her work opposite John Travolta in Grease (1978)
835 Olivia is the name of an asteroid native to the Main Belt.
Saint Oliva is the patron saint of music.

Alternate Forms: Olive; Oliver; Oliva; Ollia; Olya

Sources:
2007 rankings are courtesy the Social Security Administration (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/).
Historical name data generated from the Baby Name Wizard (http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager)
Sources for name facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_%28given_name%29