Ovadia
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "servant of the Lord".
Name Census estimates that about 142 living Americans carry the first name Ovadia. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ovadia today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ovadia births was 2017 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ovadia. 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.
People living today
142
~ 1 in 2,413,763 Americans
Peak year
2017
17 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,583
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Ovadia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ovadia from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 87 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ovadia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ovadia 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 Ovadia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ovadias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ovadia
The given name Ovadia originates from the Hebrew language and culture. It is a masculine name derived from the Hebrew word "ovad," which means "to serve" or "to worship." The name can be traced back to ancient times and has its roots in the Biblical period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears as the name of a prophet from the northern kingdom of Israel. Obadiah, as he is known in English, lived during the 9th century BCE and is believed to have been a contemporary of the prophet Elijah.
Throughout history, the name Ovadia has been borne by several notable individuals, particularly within the Jewish community. One such individual was Ovadia ben Abraham Aben Ezra, a renowned Jewish philosopher, poet, and biblical commentator who lived in the 12th century CE. He was born in Spain in 1092 and made significant contributions to the study of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish thought.
Another notable figure with the name Ovadia was Ovadia Yosef, an influential Sephardic rabbi and scholar who served as the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1920 and passed away in 2013 at the age of 93. Yosef played a crucial role in shaping modern Sephardic Jewish thought and was highly respected for his vast knowledge of Jewish law and tradition.
In the 19th century, Ovadia Sommi was a prominent Italian Jewish writer and poet. He was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1841 and is known for his contributions to Italian literature, particularly his works exploring Jewish themes and identity.
Ovadia Maimon, an Israeli philosopher and educator, was another individual who bore this name. He was born in 1904 in Ukraine and later immigrated to Israel, where he became a prominent figure in the field of education and Jewish thought.
It is important to note that while the name Ovadia has been primarily associated with the Jewish community throughout history, it has also been used in other cultures and contexts. The name's meaning and significance may vary depending on the cultural and linguistic background in which it is used.
People
Ovadia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ovadia 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
Ovadia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ovadia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 142 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ovadia 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 2,413,763 US residents.
Is Ovadia a common name?
We classify Ovadia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 143 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ovadia most popular?
The single biggest year for Ovadia was 2017, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ovadia is about 8 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 Ovadia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ovadia a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ovadia 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 Ovadia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ovadia 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 Ovadia 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 Ovadia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.