Ozioma
A masculine Nigerian name meaning "the good road" or "the road to blessings".
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Ozioma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ozioma today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ozioma births was 2013 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ozioma. 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 Ozioma with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ozioma. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
2013
8 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,113
Tracked since 1999
Census
Ozioma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 231 people with the first name Ozioma, which placed it at #35,041 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
#35,041
National first-name rank
People counted
231
231 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ozioma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ozioma is Black at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Ozioma 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 Ozioma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.9% · 210
- White3.0% · 7
- Two or more races3.0% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Ozioma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ozioma from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 20 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ozioma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ozioma 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 Ozioma 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 Ozioma
The name Ozioma has its origins in the Igbo language, which is primarily spoken in southeastern Nigeria. It is a compound word formed by combining the Igbo words 'ozi' meaning 'road' or 'journey' and 'oma' meaning 'good' or 'beautiful'. Therefore, the name Ozioma can be interpreted to mean 'a good journey' or 'a beautiful journey'.
The Igbo people have a rich cultural heritage dating back centuries, and their naming conventions often reflect their values and beliefs. Names are carefully chosen with the intention of bestowing blessings, expressing gratitude, or conveying specific meanings upon the child.
While the exact origins of the name Ozioma are difficult to trace, it has been a part of Igbo culture for generations. It is believed to have been used as early as the 18th century, although written records from that time period are scarce.
One of the earliest known figures with the name Ozioma was Ozioma Nwokedi, a renowned Igbo trader and entrepreneur who lived in the late 19th century. He was known for his successful business ventures and his contributions to the economic development of the region.
Another notable figure was Ozioma Nwiya, a Igbo writer and poet who lived in the early 20th century. He was known for his works that celebrated Igbo culture and traditions, and his poetry was widely acclaimed for its beauty and depth.
In more recent times, the name Ozioma has been carried by several prominent individuals, including Ozioma Okorocha, a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the Governor of Imo State from 2011 to 2019. Ozioma Ubabunike is a Nigerian author and academic who has written extensively on Igbo culture and literature.
Ozioma Akwiwu is a Nigerian-American filmmaker and writer known for her work exploring themes of identity, culture, and diaspora. Her films have been screened at various international film festivals and have received critical acclaim.
Ozioma Nwabudike is a Nigerian entrepreneur and technology advocate who has been recognized for her contributions to the development of the tech industry in Nigeria and Africa.
While the name Ozioma has its roots in the Igbo culture, it has gained popularity beyond the borders of Nigeria and is now used by people of various backgrounds and nationalities, reflecting the global appreciation for its beautiful meaning and cultural significance.
People
Ozioma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ozioma 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
Ozioma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ozioma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ozioma 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Ozioma a common name?
We classify Ozioma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 51 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ozioma most popular?
The single biggest year for Ozioma was 2013, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ozioma is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ozioma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 231 people with the name Ozioma, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,041 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 Ozioma 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 Ozioma?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ozioma on both sides of the split. Of the 226 people counted with this name, 47 were male (20.8%) and 179 were female (79.2%). 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 Ozioma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ozioma is Black at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Ozioma most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ozioma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (210 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 Ozioma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ozioma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ozioma 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 Ozioma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ozioma 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 Ozioma 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 Ozioma?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Ozioma at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.