Hodari
A masculine name of Swahili origin meaning "to be fortunate or prosperous".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Hodari. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hodari today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hodari births was 1979 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hodari. 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 Hodari. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
1979
14 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,049
Tracked since 1972
Census
Hodari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 131 people with the first name Hodari, which placed it at #48,547 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
#48,547
National first-name rank
People counted
131
131 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hodari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hodari is Black at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Hodari 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 Hodari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.7% · 111
- Two or more races5.3% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 6
- White3.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 2
Popularity
Hodari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hodari from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 65 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hodari 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 Hodari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hodaris live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hodari
The given name Hodari has its origins in Swahili, one of the Bantu languages spoken primarily in East Africa. The name can be traced back to the 19th century, derived from the Swahili word "hodari," which means brave, courageous, or strong.
This name gained popularity among the Swahili-speaking communities along the East African coast, particularly in present-day Kenya and Tanzania. It was often bestowed upon male children with the hope that they would grow up to embody the qualities of bravery and strength.
Hodari appears to have been a relatively uncommon name in historical records until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it became more widely adopted. One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the writings of Sir Richard Francis Burton, a renowned British explorer and writer who traveled extensively in East Africa in the 1850s.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hodari. One such figure was Hodari Mrisho Jakaya (1924-2005), a Tanzanian politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Tanzania from 1972 to 1977. Another prominent Hodari was Hodari Abdul-Ali (1942-2008), an American actor and director known for his work in films like "The Black Godfather" and "Cornbread, Earl and Me."
In the realm of literature, Hodari M. Siki (born 1956) is a renowned Kenyan poet and playwright, whose works have explored themes of identity, social justice, and the African experience. Hodari Abdul-Rauf (born 1979), formerly known as Chris Jackson, is an American professional basketball player who played in the NBA and overseas.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Hodari dates back to the late 19th century, with Hodari Visram (1865-1939), a prominent Tanzanian-born Indian businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of East Africa.
While the name Hodari has its roots in East Africa, it has gained recognition and popularity worldwide, transcending cultural and geographical boundaries. The name's powerful meaning and historical significance have resonated with many, making it a celebrated choice for parents seeking a name that embodies strength, courage, and resilience.
People
Hodari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hodari as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hodari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hodari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hodari 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Hodari a common name?
We classify Hodari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 91 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hodari most popular?
The single biggest year for Hodari was 1979, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hodari is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hodari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 131 people with the name Hodari, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,547 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 Hodari 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 Hodari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hodari appears almost entirely male. Of the 130 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Hodari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hodari is Black at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Hodari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Hodari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (111 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 Hodari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hodari a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hodari in the SSA data are male. 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 Hodari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hodari 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 Hodari 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 Hodari?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Hodari on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.