Show ContentsOllie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Ollie

What does the name Ollie mean?

The Ollie surname is generally thought to derive from a place name, perhaps Pont Doylly, or Duilly in Normandy. Alternatively, the Oyler, Ollier and similar spellings could have been derived from the English occupational name for an extractor or seller of oil having derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "olier" from "oile." In northern England linseed oil was commonly derived from flax and used as a substitute for olive oil. 1

Early Origins of the Ollie family

The surname Ollie was first found in Oxfordshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 2 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Eynsham held by Columban, a Norman noble as under tenant of the Bishop of Lincoln who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. His overlord was Robert d'Ouilli.

Early History of the Ollie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ollie research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1071, 1073, 1120, 1129, 1354, 1542, 1573, 1576, 1577, 1585, 1605, 1614, 1616, 1633, 1640, 1641, 1663, 1666, 1677, 1709 and 1815 are included under the topic Early Ollie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ollie Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Doyley, D'Oyley, Doyle, D'Oyle, Doylee, Doley, Duley, Duly, Duely, Dueley, Ollie, Oyler, Oylie, D'Oyly, Olley, Oulley, Oullie, Ollie, Owley, Oyly, Oilli, Oiley, L'Oyle and many more.

Early Notables of the Ollie family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas D'Oyley (fl. 1585), English antiquary, the second son of Sir Henry D'Oyly, knight, of Pondhall in the parish of Hadleigh, Suffolk; Robert D'Oyley (1542-1577) of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, who was Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1573; and Sir Cope Doyley (d. 1633), who inherited Hambleden Manor, Buckinghamshire in...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ollie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ollie Ranking

In the United States, the name Ollie is the 11,987th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3


Ollie migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ollie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Carl Ollie, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1819 4
  • Vicente Ollie, aged 36, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1839 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Ollie (post 1700) +

  • R. Ollie Mapes, American politician, Mayor of North Sacramento, California, 1955-56 5
  • Ollie Olsen (1958-2024), Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer
  • Ollie Betteridge (b. 1996), British ice hockey player for English Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) side Nottingham Panthers and the British national team
  • Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (1933-2016), American honky tonk singer-songwriter
  • Ollie Keogh (b. 1975), Irish footballer
  • Ollie Mitchell (1927-2013), American musician and bandleader
  • Ollie Joe Prater (d. 1991), American stand-up comedian and television personality who appeared frquently on The Tonight Show
  • Ollie Rasbury, American female vocalist and actress
  • Ollie Kilkenny (b. 1962), retired Irish sportsperson
  • Ollie Genoa Matson (1930-2011), American Olympic medal winning sprinter and professional American football player


  1. Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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