Osa
A short name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 78 living Americans carry the first name Osa. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Osa today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Osa births was 1918 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Osa. 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 Osa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
78
~ 1 in 4,394,286 Americans
Peak year
1918
28 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,726
Tracked since 1880
Census
Osa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 417 people with the first name Osa, which placed it at #23,447 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
#23,447
National first-name rank
People counted
417
417 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Osa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Osa is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.9%). 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 Osa 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 Osa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.0% · 196
- Black or African American33.6% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.9% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 26
- Two or more races4.6% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Osa
Osa leans heavily female at 88.6% of total registrations, but 87 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Osa as a male name
- Ranked #13,726 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1916 (10 births)
Osa as a female name
- Ranked #17,013 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1892 (21 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Osa on both sides of the split. Of the 405 people counted with this name, 150 were male (37.0%) and 255 were female (63.0%).
Popularity
Osa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Osa from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 146 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Osa 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 Osa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Osas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Osa
The name Osa has its origins in various languages and cultures across the world. Primarily, it is believed to have derived from the Finnish language, where 'osa' means 'part' or 'share.' This name could have been given to children born into large families, signifying their role as part of the family unit.
In Japanese culture, the name Osa is a feminine name that can be written using the kanji characters 長 (long) and 佐 (assist). This combination suggests a meaning related to longevity or endurance, potentially signifying the parents' wish for their child to have a long and prosperous life.
The name Osa also has roots in the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. In Yoruba, the name 'Osa' means 'parade' or 'celebration,' reflecting the joy and happiness associated with the birth of a child.
Historical records indicate that the name Osa has been in use for centuries. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Finnish epic poem "Kalevala," which dates back to the 19th century. In this work, Osa is mentioned as a character, though the exact context and significance of the name are not entirely clear.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Osa. One of the most famous was Osa Johnson (1894-1953), an American explorer, naturalist, and filmmaker who, along with her husband Martin, documented their expeditions to remote parts of the world through their films and books.
Another prominent figure was Osa Massen (1914-1973), a Danish-American actress who appeared in numerous films during the 1930s and 1940s, including "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" and "Cream of the Crop."
In the world of literature, Osa Lehtinen (1929-2005) was a renowned Finnish author and translator who made significant contributions to Finnish literature and culture.
The name Osa was also carried by Osa Esther Johnson (1692-1723), an English lady-in-waiting and close friend of Jonathan Swift, the renowned author and satirist. Their friendship and correspondence have been extensively documented and studied.
Lastly, Osa Massingale (born 1950) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who has performed and recorded with notable musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard, contributing to the rich tapestry of American jazz music.
People
Osa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Osa 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
Osa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Osa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 78 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Osa 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 4,394,286 US residents.
Is Osa a common name?
We classify Osa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 760 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Osa most popular?
The single biggest year for Osa was 1918, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Osa 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 Osa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 417 people with the name Osa, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,447 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 Osa 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 Osa?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Osa on both sides of the split. Of the 405 people counted with this name, 150 were male (37.0%) and 255 were female (63.0%). 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 Osa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Osa is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.9%). 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 Osa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Osa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (196 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 Osa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Osa a female name?
Yes, 88.6% of people registered as Osa 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 Osa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Osa 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 Osa 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 have the name Osa?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Osa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.