Adaora
A feminine Igbo name meaning "daughter of wealth".
Name Census estimates that about 297 living Americans carry the first name Adaora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Adaora today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adaora births was 2024 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adaora. 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 Adaora with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
297
~ 1 in 1,154,055 Americans
Peak year
2024
20 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,943
Tracked since 1999
Census
Adaora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 358 people with the first name Adaora, which placed it at #26,164 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
#26,164
National first-name rank
People counted
358
358 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adaora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adaora is Black at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and White (2.8%). 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 Adaora 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 Adaora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.9% · 311
- Two or more races7.0% · 25
- White2.8% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Adaora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adaora 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 126 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Adaora remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adaora 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 Adaora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adaoras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Adaora
The name Adaora is of Igbo origin, an ethnic group predominantly located in southeastern Nigeria. It is a compound word derived from the Igbo language, combining the elements "ada" meaning "daughter" and "ora" meaning "people" or "community". The earliest recorded use of Adaora can be traced back to the 16th century in the region now known as Igboland.
Adaora was a popular name among the Igbo people, reflecting their cultural values and traditions. It symbolized the importance placed on community and the role of women within society. In traditional Igbo culture, a daughter was seen as a valuable member of the community, contributing to its growth and well-being.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Adaora can be found in the oral traditions and folktales of the Igbo people. These stories, passed down through generations, often featured characters bearing this name, highlighting its cultural significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Adaora. One such figure was Adaora Nwapa (1935-2009), a pioneering Nigerian writer and educator who was among the first generation of modern African women writers in English. Her novel "Efuru" (1966) is considered a seminal work in African literature.
Another prominent Adaora was Adaora Olodor (1902-1989), a Nigerian educator and social activist who played a significant role in the development of educational opportunities for women in her country. She founded several schools and organizations dedicated to empowering women through education.
In the realm of politics, Adaora Muoknor (born 1957) has made a notable impact. She served as a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives and has been a vocal advocate for women's rights and gender equality.
Adaora Lily Akpamgbo (1940-2014) was a renowned Nigerian legal scholar and jurist. She was the first woman to be appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, breaking new ground for women in the legal profession.
Lastly, Adaora Oleh (born 1987) is a contemporary Nigerian artist and fashion designer whose work draws inspiration from traditional Igbo culture and explores themes of identity and self-expression.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Adaora, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of Igbo and Nigerian culture.
People
Adaora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adaora 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
Adaora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adaora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 297 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adaora 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 1,154,055 US residents.
Is Adaora a common name?
We classify Adaora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 300 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adaora most popular?
The single biggest year for Adaora was 2024, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adaora is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adaora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 358 people with the name Adaora, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,164 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 Adaora 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 Adaora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adaora appears almost entirely female. Of the 360 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Adaora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adaora is Black at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and White (2.8%). 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 Adaora most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Adaora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (311 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 Adaora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adaora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adaora 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 Adaora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adaora 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 Adaora 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 Adaora?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.