Femi
A feminine Yoruba name meaning love or affection.
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Femi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Femi today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Femi births was 2020 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Femi. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Femi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Femi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
2020
12 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2020 SSA rank
#10,577
Tracked since 1977
Census
Femi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 750 people with the first name Femi, which placed it at #15,361 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,361
National first-name rank
People counted
750
750 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Femi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Femi is Black at 85.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Femi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Femi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.1% · 638
- White4.9% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 25
- Two or more races2.7% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Femi
Femi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 77 total registrations, 32 (41.6%) were male and 45 (58.4%) were female.
Femi as a male name
- Ranked #12,661 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1995 (7 births)
Femi as a female name
- Ranked #10,577 in 2023
- 9 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Femi on both sides of the split. Of the 748 people counted with this name, 580 were male (77.5%) and 168 were female (22.5%).
Popularity
Femi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Femi from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 21 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Femi by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Femi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Femi
The name Femi originates from the Yoruba language, an ethnic group native to southwestern Nigeria and the surrounding region. It is a shortened version of the Yoruba name Olufemi, which means "God loves me" or "God loves the son." The name dates back several centuries and has its roots in the Yoruba cultural and religious traditions.
In Yoruba culture, names often carry deep significance and are chosen for their symbolic meaning or to honor a specific event or circumstance. The prefix "Olu" in Olufemi is a common honorific title meaning "owner" or "lord," while "femi" translates to "love me." This combination reflects the belief that a child is a gift from God and should be loved and cherished.
The earliest recorded use of the name Femi can be traced back to the 16th century, during the height of the Oyo Empire in present-day southwestern Nigeria. At this time, the Yoruba people had a well-established tradition of naming their children with meaningful names that reflected their cultural values and beliefs.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Femi. One prominent figure was Femi Ayinde (1934-1997), a Nigerian playwright, poet, and cultural activist who played a significant role in promoting and preserving Yoruba culture through his literary works.
Another notable Femi was Femi Kuti (born 1962), a Nigerian musician and son of the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Femi has carried on his father's musical legacy and has been an influential figure in the Nigerian music scene for decades.
Femi Falana (born 1958) is a renowned Nigerian human rights lawyer and activist who has been a vocal advocate for social justice and democracy in Nigeria. His tireless efforts have earned him international recognition and numerous awards.
In the realm of sports, Femi Opabunmi (born 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker for several clubs in Europe and represented the Nigerian national team.
Femi Adesina (born 1959) is a Nigerian journalist and writer who currently serves as the Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Media and Publicity. He has had a distinguished career in journalism and has authored several books on Nigerian politics and society.
People
Femi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Femi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Femi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Femi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Femi going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Femi a common name?
We classify Femi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Femi most popular?
The single biggest year for Femi was 2020, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Femi is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Femi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 750 people with the name Femi, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,361 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Femi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Femi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Femi on both sides of the split. Of the 748 people counted with this name, 580 were male (77.5%) and 168 were female (22.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Femi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Femi is Black at 85.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Femi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Femi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (638 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Femi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Femi a female name?
Yes, 58.4% of people registered as Femi in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Femi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Femi in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Femi can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Femi?
You can see how many people share the name Femi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.