Olu
Olú is a popular name amongst people of the Yoruba ethnic group. It is usually the first three letters of the full name. Olú is a diminutive of Olúwa in the Yoruba language and it can mean God, deity or lord, so the name 'Olúwale' could mean My God / Lord has come home.
- Yoruba
Meaning & Origin of Olu
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Olú is a popular name amongst people of the Yoruba ethnic group. It is usually the first three letters of the full name. Olú is a diminutive of Olúwa in the Yoruba language and it can mean God, deity or lord, so the name 'Olúwale' could mean My God / Lord has come home.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Yoruba
The Story of Olu
Olu first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1970, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1970: 7 births, good for #3,836 nationwide. Its most recent appearance in the national data came in 1970 (7 births); the name has since faded from the published rankings. In total, more than 7 Olus have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Olu
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Olu. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Olu
Phonetically similar names — useful when Olu is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Olu
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About the name Olu
Olu is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1970 and has accumulated 7 births in the dataset. Olu's peak popularity came in 1970 when it ranked #3,836. Use the chart and map above to compare Olu's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1970 →
- Names of the 1970s →
- Names starting with "O" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.