Olifant Surname

35,565th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 14,854 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
South Africa
Highest density in:
South Africa

Olifant Surname Definition:

See Olijard. Olifant (derived from elephas) signifies an elephant’s tusk mounted as a horn, which was one of the ancient symbols of command. In the Chanson de Roland, when the paladins are beset in the narrow gorge of Roncesvalles, Olivier urges Roland to summon Charlemagne by winding his horn: “Cumpainz Rollanz, sunez vostre olifan!”

At the third blast, sixty thousand horns respond to the call; but they are styled corns or graisles; Roland’s alone is the olifant.

Read More About This Surname

Olifant Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
South Africa14,6761:3,692488
Namibia861:28,0164,369
Lesotho271:75,2809,683
France251:2,656,909193,074
United States151:24,163,929685,360
England111:5,065,278148,650
Russia31:48,041,019639,186
Israel21:4,278,817136,311
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Scotland11:5,353,81763,002
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States81:6,277,336262,771

Olifant (146) may also be a first name.

Olifant Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

See Olijard. Olifant (derived from elephas) signifies an elephant’s tusk mounted as a horn, which was one of the ancient symbols of command. In the Chanson de Roland, when the paladins are beset in the narrow gorge of Roncesvalles, Olivier urges Roland to summon Charlemagne by winding his horn: “Cumpainz Rollanz, sunez vostre olifan!”

At the third blast, sixty thousand horns respond to the call; but they are styled corns or graisles; Roland’s alone is the olifant.

The Battle Abbey Roll (1889) by Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett

Olifant Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Olifant Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Olifant (Russian: Олифант) has its highest incidence in South Africa. It may also appear as:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Olifant? popularity and diffusion

The surname Olifant is the 35,565th most commonly occurring surname at a global level. It is borne by around 1 in 490,612 people. The surname Olifant is mostly found in Africa, where 100 percent of Olifant reside; 100 percent reside in Southern Africa and 100 percent reside in South Bantu Africa. Olifant is also the 763,528th most frequently used forename in the world. It is borne by 146 people.

The last name is most numerous in South Africa, where it is borne by 14,676 people, or 1 in 3,692. In South Africa Olifant is mostly found in: Gauteng, where 22 percent are found, North West, where 18 percent are found and Northern Cape, where 15 percent are found. Barring South Africa this surname exists in 16 countries. It is also common in Namibia, where 1 percent are found and Lesotho, where 0 percent are found.

Olifant Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Olifant has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Olifant surname rose 188 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Olifant Last Name Statistics demography

The amount Olifant earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 47.21% less than the national average, earning R 125,448 per year and in United States they earn 14.08% more than the national average, earning $49,225 USD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Olifant Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Olifant in the Russian language
Олифантolifant-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Olifant
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis