Oak
An English word referring to the sturdy, stately tree.
Name Census estimates that about 597 living Americans carry the first name Oak. It is a predominantly male name (95.6% of registrations). The average person named Oak today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oak births was 2023 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oak. 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 Oak with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
597
~ 1 in 574,128 Americans
Peak year
2023
76 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,429
Tracked since 1920
Census
Oak in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 595 people with the first name Oak, which placed it at #18,189 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
#18,189
National first-name rank
People counted
595
595 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oak
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oak is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Oak 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 Oak at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.1% · 340
- Asian and Pacific Islander30.1% · 179
- Two or more races5.5% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 19
- Black or African American2.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Oak
Oak leans heavily male at 95.6% of total registrations, but 27 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Oak as a male name
- Ranked #2,429 in 2024
- 57 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (68 births)
Oak as a female name
- Ranked #16,991 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Oak on both sides of the split. Of the 592 people counted with this name, 415 were male (70.1%) and 177 were female (29.9%).
Popularity
Oak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oak from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 296 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oak 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 Oak during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oaks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Florida, Michigan recorded the most babies named Oak, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oak
The given name Oak has its roots in the English language, derived from the Old English word "āc," which referred to the oak tree. This sturdy and long-living tree has held immense significance in various cultures throughout history, making it a popular namesake.
While the exact origin of Oak as a first name is uncertain, it likely emerged as a surname during the Middle Ages. Surnames often originated from occupations, locations, or physical characteristics, and Oak may have been given to individuals living near oak trees or working with oak wood.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Oak as a first name dates back to the 16th century. William Oak, an English theologian and academic, was born around 1532 and served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in the late 1500s.
In the 18th century, Oak gained prominence as a given name in the United States. Oak Jones, born in 1775 in North Carolina, was a farmer and Baptist minister who played a role in establishing several churches in the region.
As the name gained popularity, it was bestowed upon notable figures throughout history. Oak Park Talcott, born in 1784 in Connecticut, was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1819 to 1821.
Another notable bearer of the name was Oak Parker, an American baseball player who played in the major leagues from 1887 to 1900. Born in 1867 in Illinois, he was known for his defensive skills as an outfielder.
In the 20th century, Oak Henshaw, born in 1905 in California, was a successful screenwriter and film director. He wrote several films for Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
While the name Oak has its roots in the English language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been embraced by various communities around the world, reflecting the universal appeal of nature and its enduring symbolism.
People
Oak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oak as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Oak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 597 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oak 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 574,128 US residents.
Is Oak a common name?
We classify Oak as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 615 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oak most popular?
The single biggest year for Oak was 2023, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oak is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oak in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 595 people with the name Oak, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,189 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 Oak 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 Oak?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Oak on both sides of the split. Of the 592 people counted with this name, 415 were male (70.1%) and 177 were female (29.9%). 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 Oak?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oak is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (30.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Oak most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Oak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.1% (340 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 Oak in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oak a male name?
Yes, 95.6% of people registered as Oak 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 Oak still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oak 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 Oak 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 Oak?
Find out how many people share the name Oak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.