Aderonke
Yoruba feminine name meaning "the crown attracts honor and blessings".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Aderonke. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aderonke today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aderonke births was 1978 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aderonke. 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 Aderonke with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Aderonke. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1978
7 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1990 SSA rank
#12,977
Tracked since 1976
Census
Aderonke in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 469 people with the first name Aderonke, which placed it at #21,580 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
#21,580
National first-name rank
People counted
469
469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
98.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aderonke
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aderonke is Black at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Aderonke 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 Aderonke at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American98.3% · 461
- White0.9% · 4
- Two or more races0.9% · 4
Popularity
Aderonke: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aderonke from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Aderonke remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aderonke 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 Aderonke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aderonkes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Aderonke
The given name Aderonke has its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken by the Yoruba people of western Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo. It is a compound name derived from the words "ade" meaning "crown" or "royalty," and "ronke" meaning "to walk with grace and dignity."
The name Aderonke can be traced back to the 15th century, during the height of the Oyo Empire, one of the most powerful Yoruba kingdoms in pre-colonial Nigeria. It was commonly given to female children born into noble or royal families, reflecting the expectation that they would carry themselves with poise and elegance befitting their status.
While there are no known references to the name Aderonke in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in various historical records and accounts from the Oyo Empire era. One notable example is the story of Aderonke, the daughter of a prominent Oyo chief, who was said to have played a pivotal role in resolving a territorial dispute through her diplomatic skills and graceful demeanor.
The earliest recorded use of the name Aderonke dates back to the late 16th century, with mentions in genealogical records and oral histories passed down through generations of Yoruba families. Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Aderonke, including:
1. Aderonke Ademola (1935-2023), a Nigerian educator and former First Lady of Nigeria, known for her advocacy of women's rights and education.
2. Aderonke Adekunle (1968-present), a Nigerian-American actress and singer, known for her roles in various stage productions and television series.
3. Aderonke Apata (1960-present), a Nigerian human rights activist and founder of the African Prison Project, which works to improve conditions in prisons across Africa.
4. Aderonke Shoga (1980-present), a Nigerian-British artist and sculptor, whose works have been exhibited in galleries across Europe and Africa.
5. Aderonke Adeyemi (1975-present), a Nigerian writer and poet, whose works often explore themes of identity, culture, and the experiences of women in contemporary African society.
The name Aderonke has transcended its Yoruba origins and has gained popularity across various cultures and communities, particularly in Nigeria and among the Nigerian diaspora worldwide. Its enduring appeal lies in its beautiful meaning and the rich cultural heritage it represents.
People
Aderonke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aderonke 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
Aderonke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aderonke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aderonke 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Aderonke a common name?
We classify Aderonke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aderonke most popular?
The single biggest year for Aderonke was 1978, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aderonke is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aderonke in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 469 people with the name Aderonke, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,580 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 Aderonke 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 Aderonke?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aderonke appears almost entirely female. Of the 470 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Aderonke?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aderonke is Black at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Aderonke most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Aderonke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (461 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 Aderonke in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aderonke a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aderonke 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 Aderonke still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aderonke 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 Aderonke 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 common is the name Aderonke?
You can see how many people share the name Aderonke on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.