Olaf

Olaf or Olav (/ˈoʊləf/, /ˈoʊlɑːf/, or British /ˈoʊlæf/; Old Norse: Áleifr, Ólafr, Óleifr, Anleifr) is a Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as *Anu-laibaz, from anu "ancestor, grand-father" and laibaz "heirloom, descendant". Old English forms are attested as Ǣlāf, Anlāf. The corresponding Old Novgorod dialect form is Uleb. A later English form of the name is Olave.

In the Norwegian language, Olav and Olaf are equally common, but Olav is traditionally used when referring to Norwegian royalty. The Swedish form is Olov or Olof, and the Danish form is Oluf. It was borrowed into Old Irish and Scottish Gaelic with the spellings Amlaíb and Amhlaoibh, giving rise to modern version Aulay. The name is Latinized as Olaus.

Notable people

Fictional characters

• Count Olaf, the main antagonist in the series of novels A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
• Olaf, in Jungle Jam and Friends: The Radio Show!
• Olaf (Frozen), a living snowman in the 2013 film Frozen
• Olaf, the Berserker, in the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends
• Olaf "the Stout", in the video game series The Lost Vikings
• Olaf the Troll, in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Olaf, one of Snoopy's siblings in Peanuts
• Olaf Potato, an anthropomorphic potato in the British animated short series Small Potatoes
• Olaf the Smug Anteater, from Animal Crossing: New Leaf
• Olaf the Lofty, an inventor from Noggin the Nog
• Agent Olaf, from Odd Squad
• Olaf (Agent Otto Jefferies), from the Anita Blake series
• Olaf One-Eye, ancient High King of Skyrim from the video game series The Elder Scrolls
• Olaf, a CO in Advance Wars

Named animals

• Nils Olav, a succession of penguins at Edinburgh Zoo, officers in the Norwegian King's Guard

Septs and clans

• McAuliffe (surname)
• Mac Amhlaoibh and Mac Amhalghaidh (Irish septs)
• Clan Macaulay of Lewis
• Clan MacAulay

See also

• All pages with titles containing Olaf
• All pages with titles containing Olav
• Aulay, the Anglicized Scottish form of the name
• Ólafur, the Icelandic form of the name
• Olavi, the Finnish form of the name
• Olavo, the Portuguese form of the name
• Ole and Oluf, the Danish forms of the name
• Ola and Olov, the Swedish forms of the name

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
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