Oved
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "servant" or "worker".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Oved. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oved today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oved births was 2006 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oved. 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 Oved. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2006
9 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,523
Tracked since 1979
Census
Oved in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Oved, which placed it at #28,877 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
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oved
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oved is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%). 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 Oved 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 Oved at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.3% · 276
- White10.0% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Oved: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oved from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 45 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oved 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 Oved during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oveds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oved
The name Oved has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "oveid," which means "servant" or "worker." The name is often associated with humility, diligence, and a strong work ethic.
Oved is a name that appears in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the book of 1 Chronicles. It is mentioned as the name of one of the sons of Shemaiah, a descendant of the tribe of Levi. This biblical reference suggests that the name has been in use for centuries, potentially dating back to the time of the ancient Israelites.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Oved is Oved-Edom, a Levite mentioned in the books of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. He played a significant role in the transportation of the Ark of the Covenant during the reign of King David, around the 10th century BCE. Oved-Edom's faithfulness and reverence for the Ark earned him God's blessings, according to the biblical account.
In the Middle Ages, Oved was a relatively uncommon name, but it gained some prominence in the Jewish communities of Europe and the Middle East. One notable bearer of the name was Oved ben Jacob Averbot, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and scholar from Spain. He is best known for his work "Kabbala," which explored the mystical and esoteric aspects of Judaism.
Another historical figure with the name Oved is Oved Yosef, a 16th-century Yemenite Jewish scholar and author. He wrote extensively on Jewish law and traditions, and his works were widely studied in the Jewish communities of Yemen and the Middle East.
In more recent times, Oved has been the name of several notable individuals, such as Oved Ben-Ami, an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2001. Oved Gur, born in 1926, was an acclaimed Israeli painter and sculptor known for his abstract and expressionist works.
Oved Cohen, born in 1935, is a renowned Israeli author and playwright. He has written numerous novels, plays, and short stories that explore themes of identity, memory, and the human experience. Cohen's work has been widely celebrated and has received numerous literary awards.
While the name Oved has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, it has transcended its origins and can be found in various communities around the world today. Its meaning and historical significance continue to resonate, making it a name with a rich heritage and enduring appeal.
People
Oved + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oved 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
Oved: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oved?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oved 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Oved a common name?
We classify Oved as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oved most popular?
The single biggest year for Oved was 2006, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oved is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oved in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Oved, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 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 Oved 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 Oved?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oved appears almost entirely male. Of the 310 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Oved?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oved is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%). 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 Oved most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Oved in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (276 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 Oved in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oved a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oved 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 Oved still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oved 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 Oved 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 Oved?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.