Oprah
A feminine name of Biblical origin meaning "fawn".
Name Census estimates that about 95 living Americans carry the first name Oprah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oprah today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oprah births was 1987 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oprah. 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 Oprah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oprah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
95
~ 1 in 3,607,940 Americans
Peak year
1987
37 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2007 SSA rank
#15,078
Tracked since 1986
Census
Oprah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 206 people with the first name Oprah, which placed it at #37,688 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
#37,688
National first-name rank
People counted
206
206 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oprah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oprah is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%). 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 Oprah 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 Oprah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.0% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 8
- White3.4% · 7
- Two or more races1.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Oprah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oprah from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oprah 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 Oprah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oprahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oprah
The name Oprah is a unique and intriguing one, with its origins shrouded in mystery and speculation. Some scholars believe it may be derived from the ancient Hebrew word "oprah," which means "fawn" or "young deer." This connection could suggest that the name was initially associated with grace, beauty, and gentleness.
Another theory traces the name's roots to the Sanskrit language, where "apara" means "other" or "beyond." This potential etymology implies a sense of transcendence or a journey towards the unknown. However, the exact cultural and linguistic origins of the name remain elusive, adding to its enigmatic allure.
In terms of historical references, the name Oprah is not widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures. This scarcity of early written records contributes to the mystique surrounding its origins and early usage.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Oprah are relatively recent, with the first known person bearing the name being Oprah Winfrey, the renowned American media mogul, actress, and philanthropist. Born in 1954, Oprah Winfrey has undoubtedly been the most influential and recognizable individual to carry this name.
While Oprah Winfrey's prominence has brought the name into the global spotlight, a few other notable individuals throughout history have also shared this moniker. For instance, Oprah Gail Winfrey (1935-2003), the cousin of the famous talk show host, was a civil rights activist and educator in her own right.
Another individual bearing the name Oprah was Oprah Mae Mickens (1926-2008), an American gospel singer and songwriter who contributed to the rich tapestry of African American music in the 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Oprah Garnett (1858-1919) was a British author and playwright known for her novels and plays depicting the lives of working-class women in late Victorian England.
Lastly, Oprah Sidonie Gabriel (1858-1925) was a French painter and engraver who gained recognition for her portraits and landscapes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While these examples provide glimpses into the historical usage of the name Oprah, its true origins and early evolution remain enigmatic, adding to the allure and intrigue surrounding this unique moniker.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Oprah
People
Oprah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oprah 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
Oprah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oprah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 95 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oprah 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 3,607,940 US residents.
Is Oprah a common name?
We classify Oprah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 99 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oprah most popular?
The single biggest year for Oprah was 1987, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oprah is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oprah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 206 people with the name Oprah, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,688 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 Oprah 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 Oprah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oprah appears almost entirely female. Of the 210 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Oprah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oprah is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%). 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 Oprah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oprah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (169 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 Oprah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oprah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oprah 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 Oprah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oprah 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 Oprah 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 named Oprah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.