Olle
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a diminutive of the male given names Olof and Olov. Affix of the first two letters in Olof and Olov, Ol + (gemination) l + (hypocoristic suffix) -e. Compare with Swedish male given name hypocoristic forming.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Olle (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Olle has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2011. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 172 |
| 1999 | 174 |
| 2000 | 186 |
| 2001 | 202 |
| 2002 | 276 |
| 2003 | 337 |
| 2004 | 355 |
| 2005 | 395 |
| 2006 | 432 |
| 2007 | 447 |
| 2008 | 421 |
| 2009 | 434 |
| 2010 | 464 |
| 2011 | 602 |
| 2012 | 588 |
| 2013 | 578 |
| 2014 | 458 |
| 2015 | 441 |
| 2016 | 414 |
| 2017 | 388 |
| 2018 | 378 |
| 2019 | 349 |
| 2020 | 358 |
| 2021 | 398 |
| 2022 | 366 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 7,360 |
| 2000 | 7,445 |
| 2001 | 7,573 |
| 2002 | 7,744 |
| 2003 | 8,032 |
| 2004 | 8,328 |
| 2005 | 8,605 |
| 2006 | 8,939 |
| 2007 | 9,294 |
| 2008 | 9,663 |
| 2009 | 10,021 |
| 2010 | 10,389 |
| 2011 | 10,897 |
| 2012 | 11,351 |
| 2013 | 11,863 |
| 2014 | 12,232 |
| 2015 | 12,592 |
| 2016 | 12,918 |
| 2017 | 13,230 |
| 2018 | 13,527 |
| 2019 | 13,816 |
| 2020 | 14,105 |
Olle in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Olle.Hi! My name is Olle.
- Olle ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Olle called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Olle i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Olle this afternoon.
- Olles mamma är lärare.Olle's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Olles mamma is Olle's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Olle
How do you pronounce Olle in Swedish?
In IPA, Olle is /²ʊlːɛ/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Olle mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a diminutive of the male given names Olof and Olov. Affix of the first two letters in Olof and Olov, Ol + (gemination) l + (hypocoristic suffix) -e. Compare with Swedish male given name hypocoristic forming.
How popular is Olle in Sweden?
366 babies were named Olle in 2022. In 2020, 14,105 people in Sweden had Olle as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2011 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.