Oheneba
A masculine name of Akan origin meaning "the lord has arrived".
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Oheneba. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oheneba today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oheneba births was 2021 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oheneba. 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 Oheneba with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oheneba. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
2021
9 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,760
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Oheneba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oheneba from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 18 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
Oheneba 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 Oheneba 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 Oheneba
Oheneba is a given name of Akan origin, derived from the Twi language spoken primarily in Ghana. The name can be traced back to the 13th century and the rise of the Ashanti Empire in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast.
In the Twi language, Oheneba translates roughly to "child of royalty" or "prince". It is a combination of the words "ohene" meaning "king" or "chief", and "ba" meaning "child". The name was traditionally given to sons born into the ruling class or royal families of the Ashanti people.
Oheneba appears in several historical records and oral traditions from the Ashanti kingdom. It is referenced in the Ananse folktales, a collection of stories and fables that have been passed down for generations among the Akan people. The name is also found in the genealogical records of various Ashanti royal lineages.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Oheneba dates back to the 16th century, during the reign of Oheneba Aniagyei II, who was the 16th king of the Ashanti Empire from 1572 to 1583. Another notable historical figure was Oheneba Mensah Sarbah (1884-1986), a Ghanaian lawyer, writer, and Pan-Africanist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement.
Other historical figures with the name Oheneba include:
1. Oheneba Kokroko (c. 1700-1760), a prominent Akan military leader and chief during the 18th century.
2. Oheneba Akyeampong (1824-1896), a Ghanaian diplomat and linguist who served as an interpreter for the British colonial administration.
3. Oheneba Frimpong (1872-1942), a Ghanaian educator and pioneer of formal education in the Ashanti region.
4. Oheneba Akwasi Amoako (1900-1980), a Ghanaian traditional ruler and chief of the Amoako clan during the 20th century.
5. Oheneba Adusei Poku (1920-1998), a Ghanaian politician and member of the Convention People's Party, who served as a member of parliament.
People
Oheneba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oheneba 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
Oheneba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oheneba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oheneba 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 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Oheneba a common name?
We classify Oheneba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oheneba most popular?
The single biggest year for Oheneba was 2021, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oheneba is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Oheneba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oheneba a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oheneba 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 Oheneba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oheneba 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 Oheneba 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Oheneba as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.