Obdulia
Of Latin origin meaning "stubborn" or "untamed".
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the first name Obdulia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Obdulia today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Obdulia births was 1975 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Obdulia. 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.
People living today
120
~ 1 in 2,856,286 Americans
Peak year
1975
10 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1999 SSA rank
#16,182
Tracked since 1920
Census
Obdulia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,077 people with the first name Obdulia, which placed it at #5,538 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
#5,538
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,077 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Obdulia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Obdulia is Hispanic at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and White (0.5%). 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 Obdulia 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 Obdulia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.5% · 3,000
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 45
- White0.5% · 15
- Black or African American0.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
- Two or more races0.1% · 3
Popularity
Obdulia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Obdulia from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 49 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Obdulia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Obdulia 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 Obdulia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Obdulias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Obdulia
The name Obdulia is of Latin origin, derived from the Latin word "obdurare," which means "to harden" or "to be obstinate." It is believed to have emerged during the Roman era, possibly as a name given to individuals who exhibited a strong-willed or unyielding personality.
In ancient Roman times, names often reflected personal characteristics or virtues that were valued. The name Obdulia may have been bestowed upon children with the hope that they would grow up to be resilient and steadfast individuals. It could also have been used as a nickname for someone who displayed a stubborn or resolute nature.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Obdulia dates back to the 3rd century AD, where it is mentioned in a Roman inscription found in the city of Pompeii. This suggests that the name was in use during the later years of the Roman Empire.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Obdulia was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 4th century AD. Few details about her life are known, but her name was recorded on a funerary inscription discovered in the catacombs of Rome.
In the Middle Ages, the name Obdulia experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in parts of Spain and Portugal. This can be attributed to the influence of Latin and the enduring legacy of Roman culture in the Iberian Peninsula.
One notable figure from this period was Obdulia of Seville, a Benedictine nun who lived in the 11th century. She is renowned for her piety and devotion to her religious order, as well as her efforts in establishing a convent in the city of Seville.
During the Renaissance, the name Obdulia was associated with several influential women, including Obdulia Gonzaga, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who lived from 1472 to 1542. Her patronage contributed to the flourishing of Renaissance culture in northern Italy.
In the 18th century, Obdulia de la Cruz, a Spanish artist and painter, gained recognition for her religious works and portraiture. She lived from 1707 to 1783 and is considered one of the most accomplished female artists of her time in Spain.
Another noteworthy figure was Obdulia Ruiz de Velasco, a Mexican activist and writer who lived from 1892 to 1964. She was a prominent figure in the Mexican feminist movement and fought for women's rights and education.
While the name Obdulia is not as common today as it once was, it continues to hold historical significance and serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and linguistic traditions of the Latin world.
People
Obdulia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Obdulia 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
Obdulia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Obdulia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 120 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Obdulia 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 2,856,286 US residents.
Is Obdulia a common name?
We classify Obdulia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 163 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Obdulia most popular?
The single biggest year for Obdulia was 1975, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Obdulia is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Obdulia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,077 people with the name Obdulia, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,538 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 Obdulia 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 Obdulia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Obdulia appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,073 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Obdulia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Obdulia is Hispanic at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and White (0.5%). 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 Obdulia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Obdulia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (3,000 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 Obdulia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Obdulia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Obdulia 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 Obdulia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Obdulia 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 Obdulia 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 share the name Obdulia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.