Oba
A masculine Yoruba name meaning "king" or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 49 living Americans carry the first name Oba. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oba today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oba births was 1974 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oba. 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 Oba with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oba. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
49
~ 1 in 6,994,986 Americans
Peak year
1974
8 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,598
Tracked since 1915
Census
Oba in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Oba, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oba
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oba is Black at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Oba 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 Oba at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.8% · 113
- White14.8% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 7
- Two or more races3.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Oba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oba from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 32 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Oba remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oba 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 Oba during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Obas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oba
The given name Oba has its origins in the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria. The name is derived from the Yoruba word "Ọba," which means "king" or "ruler." It is believed to have emerged in the 14th century during the height of the Oyo Empire, one of the most influential and prosperous Yoruba kingdoms.
In the Yoruba culture, the title "Ọba" was reserved for the supreme leaders of the various city-states and kingdoms. These rulers were revered as the embodiment of spiritual and political authority. As such, the name Oba held significant cultural and historical significance, denoting a sense of royalty, power, and leadership.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Oba can be found in the oral traditions and historical accounts of the Yoruba people, particularly in the famous epic of Oyo's founding, known as the Itan Oyo. This epic details the exploits of various Oyo rulers, some of whom bore the name Oba or variations of it.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Oba. One of the most famous was Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1857-1914), the last independent ruler of the Benin Kingdom, who fiercely resisted British colonization until his eventual exile in 1897.
Another notable figure was Oba Akinolu Funso Aderemi (1895-1980), the powerful and influential ruler of the Ijebu Kingdom in present-day Ogun State, Nigeria. He played a pivotal role in shaping the political landscape of the region during the colonial and post-colonial eras.
In the realm of literature, Oba Ibadan Lere Paimo (1896-1982), a renowned Yoruba author and playwright, made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of Yoruba culture through his works, which explored themes of tradition, identity, and social change.
Oba Adeniji Okunkenu (1927-2001), a prominent Nigerian academic and author, was known for his expertise in Yoruba history, language, and culture. His works, including "The Yoruba Homeland" and "The Yoruba People: Their Culture and Philosophy," shed light on the rich heritage of the Yoruba people.
In the world of sports, Oba Okunade (1943-2020), a Nigerian sprinter, represented his country at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay at the latter event.
The name Oba has endured through the centuries, carrying with it the weight of a rich cultural heritage and historical significance. It serves as a reminder of the influential Yoruba kingdoms and their leaders, whose legacies continue to shape the cultural landscape of West Africa and beyond.
People
Oba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oba as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Oba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 49 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oba 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 6,994,986 US residents.
Is Oba a common name?
We classify Oba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oba most popular?
The single biggest year for Oba was 1974, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oba is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oba in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Oba, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Oba 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 Oba?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oba leans strongly male. 143 people counted with this name were male (92.3%), compared with 12 female bearers (7.7%). 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 Oba?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oba is Black at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Oba most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (113 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 Oba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oba a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oba in the SSA data are male. 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 Oba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oba 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 Oba 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 Oba?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.