The Oliva surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,513 people carried this name — #1,835 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,100 people counted. That is up 31% from 14,892 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Oliva surname
Possibly from Latin olīva.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Oliva» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 37,188 people named Oliva live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,042 people named Oliva.
344 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 58 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
359 people named Oliva live in Switzerland.
They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 56 people named Oliva live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
43 people named Oliva is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Oliva in American newspapers,
1888–1950.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 45,022 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Oliva,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Alessandro Oliva 1407–1463 · Catholic priest -
Antonio Oliva 1560–1620 · jurist -
Giovanni Paolo Oliva 1600–1681 · Catholic priest -
Antonio Oliva 1624–1689 · physician -
Filippo Oliva 1814–1868 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 194 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Oliva.
- Olek 234 · U.S. census
- Oles 1,552 · U.S. census
- Olier 193 · U.S. census
- Oliger 375 · U.S. census
- Olin 4,163 · U.S. census
- Olinger 5,732 · U.S. census
- Olivan 580 · U.S. census
- Olivar 1,456 · U.S. census
- Olivares 23,982 · U.S. census
- Olivari 258 · U.S. census
- Olive 5,712 · U.S. census
- Oliveira 19,055 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Oliva is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.