Oshea
Variant of biblical name Joshua meaning "God is salvation", Hebrew origin.
Name Census estimates that about 1,216 living Americans carry the first name Oshea. It is a predominantly male name (95.1% of registrations). The average person named Oshea today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oshea births was 2019 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oshea. 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 Oshea with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Oshea is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 61 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Oshea is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 281,870 Americans
Peak year
2019
66 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,728
Tracked since 1979
Census
Oshea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 852 people with the first name Oshea, which placed it at #13,982 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
#13,982
National first-name rank
People counted
852
852 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oshea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oshea is Black at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and White (8.1%). 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 Oshea 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 Oshea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.0% · 622
- Two or more races8.2% · 70
- White8.1% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Oshea
Oshea leans heavily male at 95.1% of total registrations, but 61 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Oshea as a male name
- Ranked #2,728 in 2024
- 48 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (64 births)
Oshea as a female name
- Ranked #16,987 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1997 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oshea leans strongly male. 724 people counted with this name were male (85.0%), compared with 128 female bearers (15.0%).
Popularity
Oshea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oshea from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 370 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Oshea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oshea 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 Oshea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Osheas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Oshea, while Washington, Ohio, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oshea
The name Oshea has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language, tracing back to the biblical era around the 13th century BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word "Hoshea," which means "salvation" or "deliverance." This name has a rich history and has been associated with several notable figures throughout the ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oshea can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. Hoshea, the original Hebrew form of the name, was the name of the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel, who reigned during the 8th century BCE. He is mentioned in the Book of Kings as a ruler who failed to lead his people away from idolatry and ultimately faced the Assyrian invasion and the fall of Samaria.
In the New Testament, the name takes on a slightly different form, appearing as "Hosea." This was the name of one of the minor prophets of ancient Israel, whose book in the Old Testament bears his name. The Book of Hosea is known for its powerful metaphors and allegories that depict God's unwavering love for his unfaithful people.
As the name traveled through different cultures and languages, it underwent various transformations. One such variation is the Irish form, "Oshea," which gained popularity in the early medieval period. St. Oshea, an Irish monk and scholar who lived in the 6th century, was one of the earliest known bearers of this particular spelling.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Oshea. One of the most famous was Jeremiah O'Shea (1718-1798), an Irish Catholic priest and scholar who played a significant role in the preservation of Irish language and culture during the 18th century. Another notable figure was John Oshea (1835-1905), an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina.
In the realm of literature, the name Oshea is associated with the Irish novelist and playwright John O'Shea (1839-1905), best known for his novel "Lashed but not Leashed." Additionally, Michael O'Shea (1906-1973) was an American actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the mid-20th century.
The name Oshea has also been carried by several influential figures in the field of sports. One such individual was John O'Shea (born 1981), an Irish former professional footballer who played for clubs like Manchester United and Sunderland, and represented the Republic of Ireland national team.
While the name Oshea has undergone various transformations over the centuries, its essence and meaning have remained deeply rooted in the concept of salvation and deliverance, reflecting its rich biblical and cultural heritage.
People
Oshea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oshea 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
Oshea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oshea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,216 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oshea 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 281,870 US residents.
Is Oshea a common name?
We classify Oshea as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oshea most popular?
The single biggest year for Oshea was 2019, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oshea is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oshea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 852 people with the name Oshea, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,982 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 Oshea 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 Oshea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oshea leans strongly male. 724 people counted with this name were male (85.0%), compared with 128 female bearers (15.0%). 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 Oshea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oshea is Black at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and White (8.1%). 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 Oshea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oshea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (622 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 Oshea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oshea a male name?
Yes, 95.1% of people registered as Oshea 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 Oshea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oshea 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 Oshea 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 Oshea?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.