Modupe
A Yoruba name meaning "I thank God for the child".
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Modupe. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Modupe today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Modupe births was 1983 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Modupe. 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 Modupe with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Modupe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
1983
8 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2009 SSA rank
#19,287
Tracked since 1974
Census
Modupe in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 783 people with the first name Modupe, which placed it at #14,879 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
#14,879
National first-name rank
People counted
783
783 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
98.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Modupe
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Modupe is Black at 98.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.5%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Modupe 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 Modupe at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American98.6% · 772
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 4
- Two or more races0.4% · 3
- White0.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Modupe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Modupe from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 27 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Modupe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Modupe 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 Modupe 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 Modupe
Modupe is a given name of Yoruba origin from West Africa, specifically Nigeria. It is a compound name derived from the words "mo" meaning "I" and "dupe" meaning "am waking up" or "am awake." Together, Modupe translates to "I am awake" or "I have become aware." The name likely dates back several centuries, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and spiritual beliefs of the Yoruba people.
In Yoruba tradition, names hold significant meaning and are often chosen to reflect the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or the hopes and aspirations of the parents for their offspring. The name Modupe may have been given to symbolize the idea of awakening to a new life, enlightenment, or a spiritual journey.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Modupe can be found in the 19th century, when it was mentioned in historical accounts of the Yoruba Kingdom of Oyo in present-day southwestern Nigeria. During this period, the name was often associated with individuals of noble or influential status within the Yoruba society.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Modupe. One example is Modupe Williams (1923-2005), a pioneering Nigerian broadcaster and journalist who played a significant role in the development of radio and television in her country. Another is Modupe Alakija (born 1951), a billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist widely regarded as one of the wealthiest women in Africa.
In the realm of literature, Modupe Olaogun (born 1943) is a celebrated Nigerian author and poet known for her works exploring themes of cultural identity and gender dynamics. Additionally, Modupe Ozolua (born 1944) is a prominent Nigerian academic and educator who has made significant contributions to the field of education in West Africa.
Modupe Olufunmilayo Ozukou (1961-2015) was a Nigerian-born British actress and singer who gained recognition for her performances in various stage productions and television shows in the United Kingdom.
These are just a few examples of the many accomplished individuals throughout history who have carried the name Modupe, a name that reflects the rich cultural heritage and spiritual beliefs of the Yoruba people of West Africa.
People
Modupe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Modupe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Modupe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Modupe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Modupe 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 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Modupe a common name?
We classify Modupe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 64 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Modupe most popular?
The single biggest year for Modupe was 1983, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Modupe is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Modupe in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 783 people with the name Modupe, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,879 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 Modupe 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 Modupe?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Modupe leans strongly female. 763 people counted with this name were female (96.6%), compared with 27 male bearers (3.4%). 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 Modupe?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Modupe is Black at 98.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.5%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Modupe most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Modupe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.6% (772 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 Modupe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Modupe a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Modupe 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 Modupe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Modupe 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 Modupe 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 Modupe?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.