Power couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds welcomed baby number four in February 2023, but the name and gender of their child would remain a mystery – for over a year.
Recently, Ryan Reynolds revealed in an interview with Variety magazine – possibly in a slip-of-the-tongue moment – that the fourth child had been named Olin.
Similar, but not the same to Olan, which is a popular name on Irish shores, and beyond, we dive into the origins of this unusual Nordic name.
Origin of unusual name Olin
It’s not a name we would have heard a lot on these shores, though we’re sure it will explode in popularity, now that everyone’s favorite celebrity couple, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, who are partial to some more regular – and some rather unusual names – named their fourth child Olin.
Their four children are named James, Inez, Betty – and baby Olin.
Olin is a boy’s name thought to be of Scandinavian origin and means "to inherit". It is believed to be a diminutive form of another Scandinavian name, Olaf. Olaf is said to be of Norse origin meaning "ancestor’s relic" and grew in popularity, following the release of the Disney film "Frozen", which of course featured the adorable snowman we all know and love.
The name Olin, on the other hand, may also have Celtic origins. It is believed that the name may also be derived from the Irish name Auliffe, or the Welsh name Owain.
A further theory suggests that the name could have come from the Old Norse word for "descendant."
Scandinavian or Celtic, we think that Olin is a strong name reminiscent of Nordic and Viking-esque strength, and we’d like to think that Olin is a boy of great character: a hard shell with a definite softer side. We absolutely adore it and think it would work well with many surnames here in Ireland.
Popularity in Ireland
Rather unsurprisingly, we can confirm that the name Olin has yet to be discovered on the island of Ireland, with less than three babies named Olin over the last five years.
The name Olan, which would be better known in Ireland, isn’t faring much better: The name has experienced a drop in popularity since 2019, when there were nine babies born with this name, ranking the name 402nd on the list of Irish boys’ names that year.
However, in 2023, the name Olan only reached 584th place, with only five babies given that moniker that year, up two from only three boys born with that name in 2022.
Famous people named Olin
There aren’t all that many famous people named Olin – or at least, not yet. Here are a few that we could find, though we must admit, we hadn’t heard of any of them.
But with Olin Lively-Reynolds, we predict that the popularity of this name will soar, and a rake of famous Olins (and possibly, some Irish ones, too) will be added to the list below:
- Olin George Kreutz – American NFL football player
- Ken Olin – American actor
- Roxy Olin – American actress, daughter of actors Ken Olin and Patricia Wettig
- Clifford Olin - Son of actors Ken Olin and Patricia Wettig
- Alvin Olin King – American politician from Louisiana
*Originally published on RollerCoaster.ie.
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