Onesimus
A name of Greek origin meaning "beneficial" or "profitable".
Name Census estimates that about 49 living Americans carry the first name Onesimus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Onesimus today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Onesimus births was 1982 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Onesimus. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Onesimus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
49
~ 1 in 6,994,986 Americans
Peak year
1982
9 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2020 SSA rank
#10,307
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Onesimus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Onesimus from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 18 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Onesimus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Onesimus 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 Onesimus 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 Onesimus
The name Onesimus has its origins in Ancient Greek, derived from the word "onēsimos" which means "useful" or "beneficial." This name was particularly popular during the time of the Roman Empire, where it was often given to slaves.
One of the earliest and most notable references to the name Onesimus can be found in the Bible, specifically in the Epistle to Philemon written by St. Paul. In this letter, Paul mentions Onesimus, a slave who had run away from his master Philemon but later converted to Christianity under Paul's influence. Paul urged Philemon to accept Onesimus back not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.
The first recorded use of the name Onesimus dates back to the 1st century AD, when it was given to a slave who later became a bishop of Ephesus. Another early figure bearing this name was Onesimus of Jerusalem, a 4th century monk and author of a collection of ascetic writings.
In the 7th century, Onesimus of Cyprus was a hermit and saint revered in the Eastern Orthodox Church for his piety and asceticism. He lived in a monastery on the island of Cyprus and is celebrated on August 25th in the Orthodox calendar.
During the Middle Ages, Onesimus was a relatively uncommon name, but it gained some popularity in the Renaissance period. One notable figure from this time was Onesimus Nesibitt (c. 1566-1647), an English clergyman and author who wrote on religious subjects.
In more recent history, Onesimus Ustongu (1809-1870) was a prominent Xhosa chief and Christian convert in South Africa, known for his efforts to promote education and Christianity among his people.
While the name Onesimus is not as widely used today, it has left a lasting impact on history, particularly in religious and literary contexts. Its meaning of "usefulness" and "benefit" has been embodied by many individuals who bore this name throughout the centuries.
People
Onesimus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Onesimus 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
Onesimus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Onesimus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 49 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Onesimus 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 Onesimus a common name?
We classify Onesimus 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, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Onesimus most popular?
The single biggest year for Onesimus was 1982, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Onesimus is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Onesimus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Onesimus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Onesimus 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 Onesimus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Onesimus 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 Onesimus 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Onesimus?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Onesimus, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.