Humanverse

Olla vs Olly

American parents have registered 552 Ollas since 1880, against 149 Ollys. But in 2025 it was Olly that was commoner, 11 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Olla against Olly, 1880 to 2025 0 8 16 24 32 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Olla Olly

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 71 years in which either name was published, Olla for 59 years and Olly for 12 years. The lead changed hands once.

Side by side

  Olla Olly
Total US births 552149
Most in one year 2520
Babies in 2025 under 511
Estimated living today 70140
Median age today 805
Peak year 19212021
Best rank 1,723rd girls5,776th boys
Rank in 2025 unranked7,194th
First recorded 18861925
Girls / boys 552 / 021 / 128

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Ollas alive today are over 80; half the Ollys are over 5. That is 75 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Olla and Olly.