Oguz
A Turkish masculine given name meaning "clan" or "tribe".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Oguz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oguz today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oguz births was 2002 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oguz. 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 Oguz with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oguz. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2002
5 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,648
Tracked since 2002
Census
Oguz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 213 people with the first name Oguz, which placed it at #36,939 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
#36,939
National first-name rank
People counted
213
213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oguz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oguz is White at 98.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Oguz 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 Oguz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.6% · 210
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Oguz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oguz from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Oguz 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 Oguz 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 Oguz
The given name Oguz has its origins in the Turkic languages, tracing back to the ancient nomadic people known as the Oghuzes or Oghuz Turks. This group was a powerful confederation of Turkic tribes that dominated a vast region stretching from Central Asia to the Middle East during the medieval period.
The name Oguz is believed to be derived from the Turkic word "ok" or "ok-uz," which means "arrow" or "archer." This connection suggests that the name may have initially referred to skilled archers or warriors within the Oghuzes' nomadic society. The Oghuzes played a significant role in the history of the region, leaving their mark on various cultures and civilizations.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Oguz can be found in the ancient Turkic epic poem "Dede Korkut," which dates back to the 9th or 10th century. This epic portrays the deeds and exploits of the Oghuzes and their mythical ancestor, Oguz Khan. The name Oguz is closely associated with this legendary figure, who is believed to have united the Turkic tribes and established their cultural identity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Oguz. One of the earliest recorded examples is Oguz Bey, a 10th-century ruler of the Oghuzes who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Ghaznavid Empire in modern-day Afghanistan and Iran. Another prominent figure is Oguz Yabgu, a military leader and advisor to the Seljuk Sultan Tughril Beg, who lived in the 11th century.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Oguz gained further prominence. One notable bearer was Oguz Pasha (1531-1619), a military commander and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad III and Sultan Mehmed III. Oguz Pasha was renowned for his military campaigns and diplomatic efforts, contributing to the expansion and consolidation of Ottoman power.
In more recent times, Oguz Atay (1934-1977) was a celebrated Turkish novelist, playwright, and academic. His works, such as "The Tutunamayanlar" (The Misfits), explored themes of existentialism and alienation, making him a significant figure in modern Turkish literature.
Oguz Goker (1948-2015) was another notable figure, known for his work as a Turkish diplomat and politician. He served as the Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey in the 1990s, playing a crucial role in Turkey's foreign policy and international relations during that period.
People
Oguz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oguz 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
Oguz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oguz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oguz 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Oguz a common name?
We classify Oguz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oguz most popular?
The single biggest year for Oguz was 2002, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oguz is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oguz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 213 people with the name Oguz, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,939 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 Oguz 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 Oguz?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oguz appears almost entirely male. Of the 215 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Oguz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oguz is White at 98.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Oguz most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Oguz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.6% (210 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 Oguz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oguz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oguz 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 Oguz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oguz 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 Oguz 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 are called Oguz?
You can see how many people have the name Oguz on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.