Oliver

Dickens gave us one Oliver in a workhouse asking for more; the olive groves of the Mediterranean gave us the rest. The name descends from the Latin oliva, that silver-leafed tree whose branch has meant peace since Noah's dove, and it wears its pastoral origins lightly. After decades as a British standard, Oliver crossed the Atlantic and climbed steadily into the American top five, a rare classic that feels genuinely modern on a birth certificate. Three syllables with a soft, almost-whispered finish. Bookish without being precious, warm without being sentimental. A name for a boy who will grow up asking good questions.