Oya
A feminine name of Yoruba origin meaning "She tore" or "She became great".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Oya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oya today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oya births was 2022 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oya. 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 Oya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
2022
9 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,008
Tracked since 2017
Census
Oya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 219 people with the first name Oya, which placed it at #36,320 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
#36,320
National first-name rank
People counted
219
219 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oya is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Oya 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 Oya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.0% · 173
- Black or African American11.4% · 25
- Two or more races4.1% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 4
Popularity
Oya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oya from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 20 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oya 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 Oya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oya
The name Oya has its origins in the Yoruba language and culture of West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. It is a name associated with a powerful Yoruba deity, the orisha (deity) of wind, lightning, and storms. The name Oya is derived from the Yoruba word "iya" meaning "mother" and the verb "ya" meaning "to become."
In Yoruba mythology, Oya is the fierce and untamed wife of the thunder deity Shango. She is portrayed as a strong and independent woman who embodies the destructive yet regenerative power of nature. As the orisha of storms, she is revered for her ability to clear away obstacles and usher in new beginnings.
The name Oya can be found in various ancient Yoruba texts and oral traditions, where she is celebrated for her fierce loyalty, unwavering determination, and her role as a protector of women and children. Her name and associated stories have been passed down through generations, forming an integral part of the Yoruba cultural heritage.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Oya can be traced back to the 16th century, when it was mentioned in historical accounts of the Oyo Empire, a powerful Yoruba kingdom that flourished in present-day western Nigeria. Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Oya.
Oya Olokun (c. 1700s) was a renowned Yoruba princess and warrior who led her army into battle against invading forces, earning her a place in Yoruba folklore as a symbol of strength and bravery.
Oya Bambara (1793-1838) was a prominent female leader and military strategist in the Bambara Empire of West Africa, known for her tactical prowess and unwavering leadership.
Oya Ogunsola (1906-1991) was a Nigerian educator and activist who played a pivotal role in promoting women's rights and education in Nigeria during the 20th century.
Oya Oyelola (1920-2004) was a Yoruba artist and sculptor who gained international recognition for her works celebrating Yoruba culture and traditions.
Oya Talabi (born 1958) is a contemporary Nigerian-American writer and activist, known for her contributions to the promotion of African literature and the empowerment of women.
People
Oya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oya 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
Oya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oya 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Oya a common name?
We classify Oya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 38 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oya most popular?
The single biggest year for Oya was 2022, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oya is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 219 people with the name Oya, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,320 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 Oya 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 Oya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oya leans strongly female. 209 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Oya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oya is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Oya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Oya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (173 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 Oya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oya 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 Oya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oya 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 Oya 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 Americans are named Oya?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Oya at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.