Ohara
A Japanese name representing a flourishing field of rice plants.
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Ohara. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Ohara today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ohara births was 1953 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ohara. 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 Ohara. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1953
6 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1953 SSA rank
#3,687
Tracked since 1953
Census
Ohara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 132 people with the first name Ohara, which placed it at #48,390 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
#48,390
National first-name rank
People counted
132
132 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ohara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ohara is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Ohara 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 Ohara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.8% · 67
- Black or African American28.0% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 16
- Two or more races4.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Ohara
Ohara is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 26 total registrations, 6 (23.1%) were male and 20 (76.9%) were female.
Ohara as a male name
- Ranked #3,687 in 1953
- 6 male births in 1953
- Peak: 1953 (6 births)
Ohara as a female name
- Ranked #19,452 in 2009
- 5 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1986 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ohara on both sides of the split. Of the 133 people counted with this name, 44 were male (33.1%) and 89 were female (66.9%).
Popularity
Ohara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ohara from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 10 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
Ohara 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 Ohara 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 Ohara
The name Ohara originates from the Japanese language and is believed to have its roots in the early medieval period of Japan, around the 12th century AD. The name is thought to be derived from the Japanese word "hara," which refers to a plain or field, suggesting a connection to agricultural or rural areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ohara can be found in the historical records of the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), where it was used by members of the samurai class. During this time, the name was often associated with noble families and landowners, reflecting its ties to the land.
The name Ohara gained further prominence during the Muromachi period (1336-1573 AD), when it was adopted by several influential Buddhist monks and scholars. One notable figure was Ohara Gagaku (1365-1451), a renowned Zen master and poet who played a significant role in the development of Japanese literature and philosophy.
In the Edo period (1603-1868 AD), the name Ohara was associated with the artistic and cultural circles of the time. Ohara Koson (1877-1945), a renowned Japanese painter known for his beautiful depictions of birds and flowers, is one of the most famous individuals to bear this name.
Another notable figure in history with the name Ohara was Ohara Yugaku (1811-1884), a Japanese scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism.
The name Ohara has also been associated with various historical figures in the field of martial arts. Ohara Tatsuo (1914-1994) was a renowned Japanese karate master and founder of the Shindō jinen-ryū style of karate.
While the name Ohara has its roots in Japanese culture, it has also been adopted by individuals from other parts of the world, particularly those with an interest in Japanese history and traditions. However, it is important to note that the historical records and references provided here focus primarily on the name's origins and significance within Japan.
People
Ohara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ohara 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
Ohara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ohara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ohara 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Ohara a common name?
We classify Ohara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ohara most popular?
The single biggest year for Ohara was 1953, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ohara is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ohara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 132 people with the name Ohara, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,390 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 Ohara 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 Ohara?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ohara on both sides of the split. Of the 133 people counted with this name, 44 were male (33.1%) and 89 were female (66.9%). 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 Ohara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ohara is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Ohara most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ohara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.8% (67 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 Ohara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ohara a female name?
Yes, 76.9% of people registered as Ohara 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 Ohara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ohara 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 Ohara 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 Ohara as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Ohara on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.