Oladele
A Yoruba name meaning "wealth comes to the homestead".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Oladele. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oladele today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oladele births was 1990 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oladele. 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 Oladele with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oladele. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1990
5 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,102
Tracked since 1990
Census
Oladele in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 250 people with the first name Oladele, which placed it at #33,212 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
#33,212
National first-name rank
People counted
250
250 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oladele
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oladele is Black at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Oladele 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 Oladele at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.4% · 241
- Two or more races3.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Oladele: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Oladele 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 Oladele during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Oladele
The name Oladele originates from the Yoruba language spoken in southwestern Nigeria and parts of Benin. It dates back to the medieval period in West Africa. Oladele is a compound word formed by combining the elements "Ola" meaning "wealth" or "honor," and "dele" meaning "to arrive" or "to meet." Together, the name carries the meaning of "honor meets wealth" or "wealth has arrived."
In the 16th century, the name Oladele appeared in historical records and oral traditions of the Yoruba people. It was often given to children born into affluent families or during times of prosperity, symbolizing the family's social status and aspirations for the child's future success.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Oladele was a prominent trader and diplomat from the ancient Oyo Empire, active in the late 16th century. His diplomatic missions facilitated trade and cultural exchange between the Oyo Empire and neighboring kingdoms, contributing to the region's economic growth and stability.
In the 17th century, Oladele Agbonmiregun, a renowned warrior and military strategist, played a crucial role in defending the Oyo Empire against external threats. His bravery and leadership skills earned him a place in the oral histories and folktales of the Yoruba people.
During the 19th century, Oladele Ajibola was a respected scholar and educator who established one of the earliest formal schools in the region. His dedication to education and the preservation of Yoruba culture left a lasting impact on the intellectual and cultural landscape of the time.
In the 20th century, Oladele Ogunseye (1908-1991) was a renowned Nigerian writer and playwright. His works explored themes of cultural identity, social injustice, and the complexities of post-colonial Africa. His literary contributions earned him widespread recognition and numerous awards.
Another notable figure was Oladele Olugboji (1926-2004), a prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He founded several successful enterprises and used his wealth to support various charitable initiatives, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare, leaving a lasting legacy of social impact.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Oladele throughout history, reflecting its cultural significance and the diverse roles and contributions of those who carried this name across various fields and eras.
People
Oladele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oladele 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
Oladele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oladele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oladele 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Oladele a common name?
We classify Oladele as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oladele most popular?
The single biggest year for Oladele was 1990, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oladele is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oladele in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 250 people with the name Oladele, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,212 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 Oladele 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 Oladele?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oladele leans strongly male. 241 people counted with this name were male (96.4%), compared with 9 female bearers (3.6%). 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 Oladele?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oladele is Black at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Oladele most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oladele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (241 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 Oladele in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oladele a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oladele 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 Oladele still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oladele 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 Oladele 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 the name Oladele?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.