Olivia … its meaning is "olive tree" - Think Baby Names

The baby name Olivia is of Latin origin. William Shakespeare is credited with creating the name Olivia in his play, Twelfth Night. People speculate whether William Shakespeare came up with the name from the olive tree, which is an important symbol in the Bible, or whether he intended it as a feminine form of the baby name Oliver. Regardless, the baby name Olivia has gone from being a creation of Shakespeare to an extremely popular baby name.

While the baby name Olivia has been on the charts since 1880, it only became very popular in recent years, breaking into the Top 100 in 1990. (Hey, isn’t that around the same time when Dr. Olivia B. Winters came onto The Young and the Restless??) The baby name Olivia broke into the Top 10 in 2001, peaked at #4 in 2004, and ranked at #7 in 2007. See Popular Baby Names.

In addition to being popular in the United States, the baby name Olivia has ranked in the Top 100 in the following countries for the past decade:

• Australia
• Canada
• England
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Sweden
• Wales

See Think Baby Names.

The baby name Olivia is a good choice for someone who is looking for a baby name with nicknames. Some of the most common nicknames for the baby name Olivia are Olive, Liv, Livvy, and Ollie. The baby name is a good choice for Christian families who like the biblical significance of the olive tree.

Some of the most famous women to share the baby name Olivia include actresses Olivia Newton-John, Olivia Wilde, and Olivia Hussey.

Adoption Under One Roof has researched many baby names for you and continues to add more baby names to the list each week. Click here to see a list of baby names that Adoption Under One Roof has covered on its site, including links to more information about each baby name. The baby names are divided by topic and gender. Some baby names might fall under more than one topic. All baby names that Adoption Under One Roof has discussed are also provided in alphabetical order so you can search for a name easily.

This list of baby names is updated frequently as more baby names are added to the list. Whether you are looking for a baby name that holds an adoption meaning or simply a baby name that sounds pretty, you can find it here.

Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt