Olatunji
Of Yoruba origin meaning "the honor/wealth has returned."
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Olatunji. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Olatunji today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olatunji births was 1974 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olatunji. 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 Olatunji with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Olatunji. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1974
5 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1998 SSA rank
#10,843
Tracked since 1974
Census
Olatunji in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Olatunji, which placed it at #29,088 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
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
97.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olatunji
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olatunji is Black at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and White (0.7%). 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 Olatunji 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 Olatunji at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American97.1% · 297
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
- White0.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Olatunji: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Olatunji from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, 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
Olatunji 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 Olatunji 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 Olatunji
The name Olatunji originates from the Yoruba language spoken in parts of West Africa, primarily in Nigeria. It is a compound word derived from the elements "Ola" meaning wealth or fortune, and "Tunji" meaning he has returned or revisited.
Historically, the name Olatunji is believed to have been given to children born after the return of a prosperous family member or a successful journey. It signified the return of wealth or good fortune to the household.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Olatunji is found in the 16th-century Yoruba epic poem "Ifá Divination Corpus", which chronicles the oral traditions and spiritual practices of the Yoruba people. The name appears as a character in the poem, depicting a wealthy and influential figure.
In the 18th century, Olatunji Olawore was a renowned Yoruba warrior and military leader who played a significant role in the defense of the Oyo Empire against invading forces. His bravery and strategic skills earned him a place in the annals of Yoruba history.
Another notable figure named Olatunji was Olatunji Ayanlaja, a 19th-century Yoruba artist and sculptor known for his intricate woodcarvings and mastery of traditional Yoruba art forms. His works are celebrated for their cultural significance and artistic excellence.
In the 20th century, Olatunji Babatunde Lawal, born in 1923 and died in 2012, was a Nigerian educator and scholar who made significant contributions to the study and preservation of Yoruba culture and traditions. He authored several books and publications on Yoruba art, history, and philosophy.
Olatunji Akinknowo, born in 1927 and died in 2003, was a Nigerian musician and drummer who played a pivotal role in introducing Yoruba music and rhythms to the Western world. He founded the Drums of Passion ensemble and performed at numerous international festivals, helping to popularize African drumming globally.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who carried the name Olatunji, a name deeply rooted in Yoruba culture and tradition, symbolizing the return of wealth and prosperity.
People
Olatunji + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olatunji 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
Olatunji: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olatunji?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olatunji 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 Olatunji a common name?
We classify Olatunji 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 Olatunji most popular?
The single biggest year for Olatunji was 1974, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olatunji is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Olatunji in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Olatunji, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 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 Olatunji 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 Olatunji?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Olatunji leans strongly male. 307 people counted with this name were male (98.7%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.3%). 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 Olatunji?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olatunji is Black at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and White (0.7%). 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 Olatunji most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Olatunji in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (297 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 Olatunji in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olatunji a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Olatunji 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 Olatunji still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olatunji 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 Olatunji 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 Olatunji as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.