Abeni
A feminine name of Yoruba origin meaning "we have requested a child".
Name Census estimates that about 393 living Americans carry the first name Abeni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Abeni today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abeni births was 2006 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abeni. 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 Abeni with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
393
~ 1 in 872,148 Americans
Peak year
2006
24 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,526
Tracked since 1974
Census
Abeni in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 392 people with the first name Abeni, which placed it at #24,539 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
#24,539
National first-name rank
People counted
392
392 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abeni
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abeni is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.0%) and White (16.1%). 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 Abeni 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 Abeni at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.2% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino23.0% · 90
- White16.1% · 63
- Two or more races9.2% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 10
Popularity
Abeni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abeni from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 183 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
Abeni 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 Abeni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Abenis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Abeni
The name Abeni originates from the Yoruba language of West Africa, spoken primarily in Nigeria and neighboring countries. It is derived from the Yoruba word "abe" meaning "a born child" or "one who brings joy." The name is thought to have been in use since ancient times, though its precise origin is difficult to pinpoint.
Abeni was a popular name among the Yoruba people, who have a rich cultural heritage and a strong tradition of naming children based on circumstances surrounding their birth or personal qualities they are hoped to embody. The name was often given to girls born after a period of difficulty or struggle, signifying the joy and relief that accompanied their arrival.
While there are no known direct references to the name Abeni in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is deeply rooted in the Yoruba tradition and culture, which has a strong oral history. The name's popularity likely spread through West Africa as the Yoruba people migrated and traded with neighboring regions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Abeni dates back to the 18th century, when it was mentioned in the writings of a European traveler who visited the region. Over the centuries, the name has been borne by several notable individuals, including:
1. Abeni Sangari (c. 1832 - 1910), a Yoruba merchant and influential figure in the city of Abeokuta, Nigeria.
2. Abeni Akinlolu (1896 - 1972), a Nigerian educator and women's rights activist who established one of the first schools for girls in Lagos.
3. Abeni Ogunyemi (1917 - 2002), a Nigerian artist and painter known for her vibrant depictions of Yoruba culture and traditions.
4. Abeni Agbaje (1920 - 1995), a Nigerian writer and playwright whose works explored themes of identity, culture, and social change.
5. Abeni Ozoh (1947 - present), a Nigerian-born British actress and writer, known for her roles in several British television series.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Abeni throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance within the Yoruba community and beyond.
People
Abeni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abeni as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Abeni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abeni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 393 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abeni 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 872,148 US residents.
Is Abeni a common name?
We classify Abeni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 403 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abeni most popular?
The single biggest year for Abeni was 2006, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abeni is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abeni in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 392 people with the name Abeni, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,539 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 Abeni 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 Abeni?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abeni leans strongly female. 384 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 7 male bearers (1.8%). 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 Abeni?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abeni is Black at 46.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.0%) and White (16.1%). 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 Abeni most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Abeni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.2% (181 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 Abeni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abeni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abeni 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 Abeni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abeni 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 Abeni 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 named Abeni?
Find out how many people have the name Abeni on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.