Olive

Olive meaning

Olive is an international girl's name of English origin (from Latin).

The olive tree or its fruit; Latin oliva

Also used to mean: peace

Olive is the English name of the tree and its fruit, used as a girl's name since the nineteenth century. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces it through Old French to Latin oliva, "olive, olive tree", from Greek elaia, a word probably borrowed from an older Aegean language; the same root gives English oil. In the story of Noah's flood the dove returns with an olive leaf, and the olive branch has stood for peace ever since, which is why name lists add "peace". Olive is a short, gentle name, said OL-iv, and Olivia is its longer cousin.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com) · entry olive · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, olive · Lewis & Short, oliva (Logeion)

Famous namesakes

• Olive Schreiner, South African novelist

Popularity abroad

• #197 United States, girls 2025 (down 27 from 170 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #47 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Olive · Olyve

Related names

Also meaning nature

More names of Latin origin

Browse more like this