Omolola
A Yoruba feminine name meaning "child brings wealth or riches".
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the first name Omolola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Omolola today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Omolola births was 1977 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Omolola. 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 Omolola with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
118
~ 1 in 2,904,698 Americans
Peak year
1977
11 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,799
Tracked since 1977
Census
Omolola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 496 people with the first name Omolola, which placed it at #20,722 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
#20,722
National first-name rank
People counted
496
496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Omolola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Omolola is Black at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and White (1.2%). 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 Omolola 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 Omolola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.2% · 472
- Two or more races2.6% · 13
- White1.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 1
Popularity
Omolola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Omolola from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 36 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Omolola 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 Omolola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Omololas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Omolola
Omolola is a given name of Yoruba origin from southwestern Nigeria. The name is derived from the combination of the Yoruba words "omo" meaning child, and "lola" meaning wealth or fortune.
The earliest known use of the name Omolola dates back to the 17th century in the Yoruba region of present-day Nigeria. It was commonly given to female children as a symbol of blessing and prosperity.
In the 19th century, the name Omolola gained popularity among the Yoruba people and spread to other parts of West Africa. It was often associated with affluence and affluence, as it was believed that a child named Omolola would bring wealth and good fortune to their family.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Omolola was Omolola Aderinokun, a prominent Yoruba trader and businesswoman who lived in the late 18th century. She was renowned for her successful trading ventures and her contributions to the economic development of her community.
Another notable figure with the name Omolola was Omolola Adekanye, a Yoruba princess and daughter of the Oba (king) of Ibadan in the late 19th century. She was known for her beauty, intelligence, and commitment to preserving Yoruba culture and traditions.
In the 20th century, the name Omolola continued to be popular among the Yoruba people and spread to other parts of Nigeria and the African diaspora. One famous bearer of the name was Omolola Fasehun (1930-2018), a Nigerian educator and activist who fought for women's rights and educational opportunities for girls.
Another notable Omolola was Omolola Omotosho (1906-1995), a Nigerian writer and playwright who was instrumental in promoting Yoruba literature and culture through her works.
Omolola Olorunyomi (1923-2010) was a Nigerian politician and activist who played a significant role in the fight for Nigeria's independence from British colonial rule. She served as a member of the Western Regional House of Assembly and worked tirelessly to promote women's empowerment and education.
People
Omolola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Omolola 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
Omolola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Omolola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 118 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Omolola 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 2,904,698 US residents.
Is Omolola a common name?
We classify Omolola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 121 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Omolola most popular?
The single biggest year for Omolola was 1977, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Omolola is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Omolola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 496 people with the name Omolola, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,722 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 Omolola 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 Omolola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Omolola leans strongly female. 493 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Omolola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Omolola is Black at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and White (1.2%). 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 Omolola most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Omolola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (472 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 Omolola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Omolola a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Omolola 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 Omolola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Omolola 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 Omolola 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 Omolola?
You can see how many people share the name Omolola on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.