Auda
A feminine Arabic name meaning "she who returns".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Auda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Auda today is around 91 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Auda births was 1916 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Auda. 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
- • The typical person named Auda is about 91 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Audas were born before 1945.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Auda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1916
15 babies that year
Average age
91
years old
1943 SSA rank
#4,232
Tracked since 1887
Census
Auda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 181 people with the first name Auda, which placed it at #40,888 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
#40,888
National first-name rank
People counted
181
181 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Auda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Auda is White at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (36.5%) and Black (5.5%). 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 Auda 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 Auda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.4% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino36.5% · 66
- Black or African American5.5% · 10
- Two or more races5.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 4
Popularity
Auda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Auda from the 1880s through to the 1940s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Auda 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 Auda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Audas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Auda
The name Auda is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, likely deriving from the word "awda," which means "return" or "to come back." It's a relatively rare name, primarily found in the Middle East and regions with strong cultural and linguistic ties to the Arabic world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Auda can be traced back to the 7th century, when an Arab military commander and companion of the Prophet Muhammad bore this name. Auda ibn Hatim al-Tai was a prominent figure during the early days of Islam, known for his bravery and loyalty to the nascent Muslim community.
In the 10th century, Auda al-Baghdadi was a renowned poet and literary figure from Baghdad, Iraq. His works were widely celebrated and influential during the golden age of Arabic literature, contributing to the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Moving forward in history, Auda Pasha al-Misri was an Egyptian military commander and political leader who played a significant role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Born in 1873, he worked closely with British officer T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and was instrumental in organizing and leading the Arab forces in their fight for independence.
Another notable figure bearing the name Auda was Auda Abu Tayeh, a Bedouin tribal leader from the early 20th century. Born in 1891 in what is now Jordan, he was a prominent figure in the Arab Revolt and a close ally of Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein, the future king of Iraq.
In more recent times, Auda Abu Rahmah was a Palestinian activist and leader of the non-violent resistance movement against the Israeli occupation. Born in 1939, he dedicated his life to advocating for Palestinian rights through peaceful means and was a prominent figure in the struggle for independence.
While the name Auda has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and found its way into various communities around the world, albeit in a more limited capacity. The name carries a sense of resilience, determination, and a connection to the rich history and traditions of the Arab world.
People
Auda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Auda 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
Auda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Auda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Auda 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Auda a common name?
We classify Auda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 239 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Auda most popular?
The single biggest year for Auda was 1916, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Auda is about 91 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Auda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 181 people with the name Auda, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,888 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 Auda 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 Auda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Auda leans strongly female. 157 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 24 male bearers (13.3%). 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 Auda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Auda is White at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (36.5%) and Black (5.5%). 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 Auda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Auda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.4% (84 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 Auda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Auda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Auda 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 Auda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Auda 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 Auda 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 Auda?
Find out how many Americans are named Auda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.