Meaning & Origin
a male given name
Ole is a boy's baby name of Scandinavian origin, the Danish and Norwegian short form of Olaf, from the Old Norse Áleifr, composed of anu (ancestor) and leifr (heir, descendant), meaning 'ancestor's descendant' or 'heir of ancestors.'
With over 2,100 recorded births, Ole is a beloved classic of Scandinavian naming — brief, warm, immediately recognizable as Nordic. In Denmark and Norway it has been a steadily popular name for generations. American audiences know it from the fictional cartoonist Ole Anderson in Hemingway's short story 'The Killers,' and from its use as a general Scandinavian exclamation. Simple, complete, and carrying centuries of Nordic heritage.