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[ 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)"   |
