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Olaf - Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Olaf

[ 2 syll. o-laf, ol-af ] The boy name Olaf is pronounced as OWLaaF †. Olaf is used chiefly in the English, German, and Scandinavian languages. It is derived from Old Norse origins. The name is derived from the Old Norse 'anleifr' meaning 'family descendant', which is comprised of the elements 'anu' (ancestor) and 'leifr' (heir, descendent). It was borne by several Scandinavian kings, most notably Olaf Haraldsson (995-1030), who was later canonized as Saint Olaf. The name has long been used in Scandinavian countries. It was introduced intto England by the Vikings before the Norman Conquest, and later saw a revival in the 19th century from Scandinavian immigrants in the USA.

Olaf has 19 variant forms that are used in both English and other languages. A variant form of Olaf used in English is Olin.

Foreign variant forms include Aulay (Scottish), Auley, Auliffe, Ola (Scandinavian), Olaff, Olafur (Scandinavian), Olan, Olav (Scandinavian), Olave (Scandinavian), Olavi (Finnish), Olay (Scandinavian), Olef, Olev, Olle (Scandinavian), Olov (Scandinavian), and Oluf (Scandinavian). Specific foreign forms include the short form Ole (German and Scandinavian), and the variant spelling Olof (Scandinavian).

Olaf is uncommon as a baby boy name. At the height of its usage in 1908, 0.014% of baby boys were given the name Olaf. It was #533 in rank then. The baby name has markedly declined in popularity since then, and is today of very modest use. Within all boy names in its family, Olaf was nonetheless the most widely used in 2008.

Baby names that sound like Olaf include Olav (Scandinavian), Olave (Scandinavian), Olef, Olof (Scandinavian), Olavi (Finnish), Olev, and Olivier (French).

 



† Pronunciation for Olaf: OW as in "oat (OW.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; F as in "fee (F.IY)"


 
Popularity Trend
for Olaf
from 1900 to 2008
Variant Popularity Chart
for Olaf
in 2008
 

Meaning of Olaf Meaning of Ole Meaning of Olof Meaning of Auley Meaning of Oluf Meaning of Olov Meaning of Olle Meaning of Olav Meaning of Olin Meaning of Olev Meaning of Olef Meaning of Olay Meaning of Olavi Meaning of Aulay Meaning of Olan Meaning of Olafur Meaning of Olaff Meaning of Ola Meaning of Auliffe Meaning of Olave Meaning of Ola