Ghana
A name of Ghanaian origin meaning "warrior king".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Ghana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ghana today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ghana births was 1969 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ghana. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ghana. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1969
7 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1972 SSA rank
#8,709
Tracked since 1969
Census
Ghana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 235 people with the first name Ghana, which placed it at #34,648 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
#34,648
National first-name rank
People counted
235
235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
58.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ghana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ghana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and White (10.6%). 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 Ghana 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 Ghana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander58.7% · 138
- Black or African American24.7% · 58
- White10.6% · 25
- Two or more races3.4% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 6
Popularity
Ghana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ghana from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 7 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Ghana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ghana 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 Ghana 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 Ghana
The name Ghana originates from the West African region and is believed to be derived from the Soninke language spoken by the Soninke people, who were among the earliest inhabitants of the area now known as Ghana. The name is thought to be related to the Soninke word "Wagadou" or "Wagadu," which referred to an ancient empire that flourished in the region between the 9th and 13th centuries.
The name Ghana has deep historical roots and is closely tied to the medieval Ghana Empire, one of the earliest and most powerful kingdoms in West Africa. This empire, which existed from around the 7th to the 13th century, was centered in the region now encompassed by modern-day Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal. It controlled important trade routes across the Sahara Desert and played a significant role in the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Ghana can be found in the writings of the 11th-century Arab geographer and historian, Al-Bakri. In his work, he describes the "land of the Ghana," referring to the territory of the Ghana Empire and its people. The name was also mentioned in various other medieval Arabic and European texts, further solidifying its historical significance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ghana, further contributing to its legacy. One such individual was Ghana Musammat, a prominent ruler of the Ghana Empire who reigned in the early 11th century. Another was Ghana Bassaru, a powerful military leader and the founder of the Soninke dynasty that ruled the empire during the 13th century.
In more recent times, the name Ghana has been carried by notable figures such as Ghana Amesika (1939-2020), a Ghanaian politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 2001. Ghana Leary (1935-2018) was an American actress and activist known for her roles in films like "Sounder" and "The River Niger."
The name Ghana has also been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields. For instance, Ghana Benjamin (1942-2022) was an American social worker and activist who dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Ghana Diop (1933-2012) was a renowned Senegalese filmmaker and writer whose works explored themes of African identity and cultural heritage.
People
Ghana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ghana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ghana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ghana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ghana 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Ghana a common name?
We classify Ghana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ghana most popular?
The single biggest year for Ghana was 1969, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ghana is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ghana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 235 people with the name Ghana, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,648 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 Ghana 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 Ghana?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ghana on both sides of the split. Of the 236 people counted with this name, 147 were male (62.3%) and 89 were female (37.7%). 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 Ghana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ghana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Black (24.7%) and White (10.6%). 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 Ghana most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ghana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (138 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 Ghana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ghana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ghana 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 Ghana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ghana 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 Ghana 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 share the name Ghana?
Want to know how many Americans are named Ghana? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.