Oneyda
A feminine name of Indigenous American origin representing noble or brave.
Name Census estimates that about 47 living Americans carry the first name Oneyda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oneyda today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oneyda births was 1993 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oneyda. 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 Oneyda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
47
~ 1 in 7,292,645 Americans
Peak year
1993
7 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2010 SSA rank
#16,445
Tracked since 1990
Census
Oneyda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 805 people with the first name Oneyda, which placed it at #14,592 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
#14,592
National first-name rank
People counted
805
805 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oneyda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oneyda is Hispanic at 98.8%. The next largest groups are Black (0.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%). 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 Oneyda 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 Oneyda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.8% · 795
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
- White0.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Popularity
Oneyda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oneyda from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 24 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oneyda 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 Oneyda 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 Oneyda
The name Oneyda has its origins in the indigenous languages of the Americas, specifically in the Taino language spoken by the native inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. The name is believed to have been derived from the Taino word "oni," which means "gold" or "precious metal." This linguistic connection suggests that the name was originally associated with wealth, value, and perhaps the natural resources found in the region.
During the time of the Spanish colonization of the Caribbean in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, many Taino names were recorded and adapted into the Spanish language. It is likely that Oneyda emerged as a variation of the Taino name during this period of cultural exchange and assimilation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oneyda can be found in historical documents from the Spanish colonial era in Puerto Rico. In 1778, a woman named Oneyda Hernández was born in the town of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. She lived during a time when the island was under Spanish rule, and her name reflected the blending of indigenous and Spanish influences.
In the 19th century, the name Oneyda appeared in literature and historical records from various parts of Latin America. One notable figure was Oneyda Álvarez de Cuadra, a Cuban writer and poet who lived from 1845 to 1898. She was known for her contributions to the romantic literary movement in Cuba and her advocacy for women's rights.
Another famous bearer of the name was Oneyda Galbis, a Panamanian author and activist born in 1889. She was a prominent figure in the feminist movement in Panama and founded the Panamanian Feminist League in 1923. Galbis dedicated her life to promoting gender equality and women's suffrage in her country.
In the 20th century, Oneyda Martínez Blanco, a Puerto Rican journalist and writer, made significant contributions to the literary scene in Puerto Rico. Born in 1913, she was known for her work in promoting Puerto Rican culture and literature, and she was a member of the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language.
Oneyda Nonato, a Brazilian actress and singer born in 1941, is another notable figure associated with this name. She had a successful career in Brazilian television and theater and was recognized for her talent and versatility as a performer.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Oneyda, which has been carried by notable individuals across various fields, including literature, activism, and the arts, throughout the centuries in different parts of the Americas.
People
Oneyda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oneyda 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
Oneyda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oneyda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 47 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oneyda 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 7,292,645 US residents.
Is Oneyda a common name?
We classify Oneyda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 48 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oneyda most popular?
The single biggest year for Oneyda was 1993, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oneyda is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oneyda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 805 people with the name Oneyda, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,592 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 Oneyda 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 Oneyda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oneyda leans strongly female. 802 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Oneyda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oneyda is Hispanic at 98.8%. The next largest groups are Black (0.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%). 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 Oneyda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Oneyda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.8% (795 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 Oneyda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oneyda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oneyda 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 Oneyda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oneyda 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 Oneyda 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 Oneyda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.