Oiva is of Finnish origin, derived from the Old Norse name Eivindr, which consists of the elements 'ei' meaning 'ever' and 'vindr' meaning 'friend'. The name was brought to Finland by Vikings in earlier times and has since become quite popular in Finland, particularly during the 20th century. It is often used interchangeably with the Swedish form Evert or the Danish form Ejvind. In Finnish, Oiva is pronounced similar to "OH-vee-ah".
The name Oiva peaked in popularity during the year 1916 with 17 births. Overall, there were a total of 104 babies named Oiva born between 1913 and 1924.