Esosa
A gender-neutral Nigerian name meaning "no one is greater than God."
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Esosa. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Esosa today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esosa births was 2007 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esosa. 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 Esosa with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Esosa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2007
7 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,143
Tracked since 1999
Census
Esosa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 231 people with the first name Esosa, 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
94.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Esosa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esosa is Black at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and White (1.7%). 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 Esosa 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 Esosa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.4% · 218
- Two or more races2.2% · 5
- White1.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Esosa
Esosa leans heavily female at 85.1% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Esosa as a male name
- Ranked #13,143 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
Esosa as a female name
- Ranked #14,105 in 2022
- 6 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2007 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Esosa on both sides of the split. Of the 229 people counted with this name, 86 were male (37.6%) and 143 were female (62.4%).
Popularity
Esosa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esosa 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 32 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Esosa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esosa 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 Esosa 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 Esosa
The name Esosa originates from the Edo people of southern Nigeria. It is a compound word derived from the Edo language, combining the words "Ẹsa" meaning "leopard" and "Osa" meaning "born on". Thus, Esosa translates to "born on the day of the leopard" or "born on a leopard day".
The Edo people have a long and rich cultural heritage dating back centuries. Their traditional belief system, which includes reverence for certain animals and nature spirits, likely influenced the naming conventions. The leopard, in particular, holds significance as a powerful and respected animal in Edo mythology.
While the name Esosa has its roots in the Edo language and culture, it has been adopted and used across various regions of Nigeria and beyond. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the historical records of the Edo Kingdom, which ruled parts of present-day Edo and Delta states from the 15th to the 19th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Esosa. One such figure is Esosa Ozigbo (1929-2008), a Nigerian academic and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Edo language and literature. Another is Esosa Igbinovia (born 1971), a Nigerian-American lawyer and author known for her work on legal education and diversity.
In the realm of sports, Esosa Imafidon (born 1979) is a former Nigerian sprinter who represented Nigeria in the Olympics and won multiple medals at international competitions. Esosa Soludo (born 1990) is a Nigerian footballer who has played for various clubs in Europe and Africa.
Additionally, Esosa Ojo (born 1992) is a Nigerian-American artist and illustrator whose work has been featured in various publications and exhibitions, showcasing the diverse talents of individuals bearing this name.
While these are just a few examples, the name Esosa has been carried by many individuals throughout history, each contributing to their respective fields and leaving their mark on the cultural tapestry of Nigeria and beyond.
People
Esosa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esosa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Esosa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esosa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esosa 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Esosa a common name?
We classify Esosa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esosa most popular?
The single biggest year for Esosa was 2007, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esosa 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 Esosa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 231 people with the name Esosa, 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 Esosa 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 Esosa?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Esosa on both sides of the split. Of the 229 people counted with this name, 86 were male (37.6%) and 143 were female (62.4%). 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 Esosa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esosa is Black at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and White (1.7%). 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 Esosa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Esosa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (218 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 Esosa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esosa a female name?
Yes, 85.1% of people registered as Esosa 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 Esosa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esosa 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 Esosa 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 have the name Esosa?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Esosa, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.