Olajide
A masculine Yoruba name meaning "wealth awakens one to honour".
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Olajide. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Olajide today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olajide births was 1987 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olajide. 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 Olajide with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Olajide. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
1987
12 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,540
Tracked since 1987
Census
Olajide in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 367 people with the first name Olajide, which placed it at #25,720 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
#25,720
National first-name rank
People counted
367
367 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olajide
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olajide is Black at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Olajide 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 Olajide at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.7% · 355
- Two or more races3.3% · 12
Popularity
Olajide: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Olajide from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 17 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Olajide 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 Olajide 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 Olajide
The name Olajide originates from the Yoruba language spoken in parts of West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. It has its roots in the Yoruba words "Ola" meaning wealth or fortune, and "jide" meaning to untie or unbind. Together, the name Olajide can be interpreted as "wealth or fortune untied or unbound."
This name likely emerged during the pre-colonial era in the region, reflecting the cultural values and traditions of the Yoruba people. It may have been bestowed upon children as a way of wishing for prosperity and freedom from constraints.
While it is difficult to pinpoint the earliest recorded instances of the name Olajide, it has been in use for centuries among the Yoruba communities of Nigeria and neighboring regions. The name may have appeared in oral traditions, folklore, or historical accounts passed down through generations.
One notable figure with the name Olajide was Olajide Aluko, a Nigerian economist and politician who served as the Minister of Economic Development and Reconstruction in the 1960s. He played a significant role in shaping Nigeria's economic policies during the post-independence period.
Another prominent individual was Olajide Olatunji, a Nigerian drummer and percussionist who popularized Yoruba drumming traditions in the United States. He was instrumental in introducing African rhythms to American audiences through his performances and teachings.
In the realm of literature, Olajide Idowu was a Nigerian writer and poet whose works explored themes of identity, culture, and social issues. His collection of poems, "Footprints on the Sand," received critical acclaim and shed light on the experiences of Nigerians during the post-colonial era.
Olajide Adelana was a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist who founded the Adelana Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting education and empowering underprivileged communities in Nigeria.
Lastly, Olajide Oladipo was a Nigerian sportsperson who represented his country in multiple international competitions, winning several medals and accolades for his athletic achievements.
While these are just a few examples, the name Olajide has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and diversity of the Yoruba people.
People
Olajide + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olajide 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
Olajide: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olajide?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olajide 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Olajide a common name?
We classify Olajide as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Olajide most popular?
The single biggest year for Olajide was 1987, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olajide is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Olajide in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 367 people with the name Olajide, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,720 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 Olajide 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 Olajide?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Olajide leans strongly male. 356 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 9 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Olajide?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olajide is Black at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Olajide most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Olajide in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (355 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 Olajide in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olajide a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Olajide 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 Olajide still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olajide 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 Olajide 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 Americans are named Olajide?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.