#4: Michael and Olivia

Boys: Michael

Meaning or origin: English form of a common biblical name (meaning ‘who is like God?’ in Hebrew) borne by one of the archangels, the protector of the ancient Hebrews, who is also regarded as a saint of the Catholic Church.

U.S. rank: 9

Celebrity: Michael Jackson

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Girls: Olivia

Meaning or origin: Latinate name, first used by Shakespeare for the rich heiress wooed by the duke in Twelfth Night (1599). Shakespeare may have taken it as a feminine form of Oliver or he may have derived it from Latin oliva ‘olive.’

U.S. rank: 2

Celebrity: Olivia Wilde