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Olive Schreiner was born in South Africa in 1855. Her elder brother Oliver predeceased her, and she was named after him.
There are no naming stats available here; not even birth records. So, on the assumption that we would if anything have followed UK usage in the 19th century, does anyone know when Olive first achieved significant use? I associate flower names in general with the end of the 19th century onwards, which would make Olive in 1855 ahead of its time. But I'm not sure.
There are no naming stats available here; not even birth records. So, on the assumption that we would if anything have followed UK usage in the 19th century, does anyone know when Olive first achieved significant use? I associate flower names in general with the end of the 19th century onwards, which would make Olive in 1855 ahead of its time. But I'm not sure.
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There's documented use here in the 13th century, with various spellings, and it's been in continuous use since then. But yes, there was a peak Olive moment at the turn of the last century, and yes, Ms Schreiner was named before it really took off.
Data time:
(from E&W birth registrations)
1840-1860 - 1600+ Olives, so quite well-used, if not super popular (for comparison, Lily, a later fad, only had 393 births at that time)
1861-1880 - 2900+ Olives
1881-1900 - 13000+ Olives
1901-1920 - 27000+ Olives (Peak Olive Moment!)
and then it starts to drop again. Interesting that it never really disappeared, and is currently climbing the charts again. Under some definitions, it might qualify as a classic.
Data time:
(from E&W birth registrations)
1840-1860 - 1600+ Olives, so quite well-used, if not super popular (for comparison, Lily, a later fad, only had 393 births at that time)
1861-1880 - 2900+ Olives
1881-1900 - 13000+ Olives
1901-1920 - 27000+ Olives (Peak Olive Moment!)
and then it starts to drop again. Interesting that it never really disappeared, and is currently climbing the charts again. Under some definitions, it might qualify as a classic.
This message was edited 8/3/2018, 3:02 PM
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Leslie Dunkling's "Everyman's Dictionary of First Names" just says that Olive "came into fashion at the end of the 19th century along with other botanical names."
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "significant use." In the records from the 1841 census of England found on Ancestry.com, there were 1,839 women listed with the given name "Olive". The two oldest, Olive Hart and Olive Voakes, were listed as being 85 years old (so born about 1756). The were both born in Hampshire and still living in that county in 1841.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "significant use." In the records from the 1841 census of England found on Ancestry.com, there were 1,839 women listed with the given name "Olive". The two oldest, Olive Hart and Olive Voakes, were listed as being 85 years old (so born about 1756). The were both born in Hampshire and still living in that county in 1841.
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Olive was actually used before the 19th century, most likely as a variant of Oliva (a Saint's name) or as a variation of Oliver (originally an unrelated name).
See, for instance: http://dmnes.org/name/Olive
See, for instance: http://dmnes.org/name/Olive
This message was edited 7/28/2018, 1:52 PM
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