Folasade
A feminine Yoruba name meaning "honor adores the crown (or royalty or majesty)".
Name Census estimates that about 410 living Americans carry the first name Folasade. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Folasade today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Folasade births was 1996 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Folasade. 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 Folasade with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
410
~ 1 in 835,986 Americans
Peak year
1996
18 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,398
Tracked since 1985
Census
Folasade in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 700 people with the first name Folasade, which placed it at #16,202 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
#16,202
National first-name rank
People counted
700
700 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Folasade
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Folasade is Black at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and White (2.3%). 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 Folasade 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 Folasade at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.4% · 640
- Two or more races4.0% · 28
- White2.3% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Folasade: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Folasade from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 117 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Folasade remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Folasade 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 Folasade during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Folasades live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Folasade, while Texas, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Folasade
Folasade is a Yoruba name that originated from southwestern Nigeria. The name is a combination of two Yoruba words: "fola" meaning "honor" or "wealth," and "sade" meaning "crown" or "adorn." Together, Folasade translates to "one who is honored and adorned with wealth and prestige."
The Yoruba people are an ethnic group native to West Africa, primarily found in modern-day Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo. Their language, Yoruba, is a tonal language with a rich cultural heritage. The name Folasade reflects the Yoruba tradition of giving names that carry meaningful messages and blessings.
While the exact origins of the name Folasade are not well-documented, it is believed to have been in use among the Yoruba people for several centuries. The name is deeply rooted in the Yoruba cultural traditions and values, reflecting the importance placed on honor, wealth, and prestige within their society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Folasade can be found in the 18th century, when a Yoruba woman named Folasade Agbeniyi was a notable trader and businesswoman in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her success and influence in the local economy earned her the respect and admiration of her community, exemplifying the meaning of her name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Folasade:
1. Folasade Olunloyo (born 1964) is a Nigerian-American journalist, author, and activist known for her work in human rights and advocacy for women's empowerment.
2. Folasade Coker (born 1981) is a Nigerian fashion designer and entrepreneur, recognized for her contributions to the African fashion industry.
3. Folasade Ogunsola (born 1944) is a Nigerian academic and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, known for her work in education and gender studies.
4. Folasade Aiyegbusi (born 1959) is a Nigerian politician and member of the House of Representatives, representing the Oyo State constituency.
5. Folasade Alakija (born 1951) is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman, known for her successful ventures in the oil and fashion industries, and her philanthropic work.
These individuals, along with countless others throughout history, have carried the name Folasade with pride, embodying the name's meaning of honor, wealth, and prestige through their achievements and contributions to their respective fields.
People
Folasade + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Folasade as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Folasade: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Folasade?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 410 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Folasade 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 835,986 US residents.
Is Folasade a common name?
We classify Folasade as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 419 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Folasade most popular?
The single biggest year for Folasade was 1996, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Folasade is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Folasade in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 700 people with the name Folasade, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,202 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 Folasade 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 Folasade?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Folasade appears almost entirely female. Of the 695 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 Folasade?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Folasade is Black at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and White (2.3%). 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 Folasade most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Folasade in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (640 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 Folasade in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Folasade a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Folasade 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 Folasade still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Folasade 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 Folasade 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 Folasade?
You can see how many people have the name Folasade on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.