Oliver Browns on OliverBrown.me.uk

Oliver Brown, the civil rights activist

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:00:00 +0100

Sharing a name with someone is usually unremarkable. Sharing it with the plaintiff in a landmark Supreme Court case is rather less so. I have Googled myself since before Google was even a thing, so I have known about Oliver Leon Brown for a while.

Oliver Leon Brown

Oliver Leon Brown was a welder and part-time minister in Topeka, Kansas. In 1950, the local NAACP recruited him as one of thirteen parents to sue the Topeka Board of Education over racial segregation in the city’s public elementary schools. His daughter Linda was among the children denied entry to the nearest white school.

Oliver Brown, the London tailor

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:07:20 +0000

When I was born, “Oliver” was quite an uncommon name. I was the first one my primary school had. And even though “Brown” is a common name, the combination is still pretty rare. But not unique.

The popularity of “Oliver” has drastically increased. It has been the number one name for boys born in the UK several years recently. This has been a bit strange for me since I spent most of my life never being around other people with my name. This is obviously still true for adults, but as a parent who now spends time in playgrounds, hearing other people call “my” name is still strange.