Oluwafemi
Masculine name of Yoruba origin meaning "God loves me".
Name Census estimates that about 248 living Americans carry the first name Oluwafemi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oluwafemi today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oluwafemi births was 2022 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oluwafemi. 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.
People living today
248
~ 1 in 1,382,074 Americans
Peak year
2022
15 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,597
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Oluwafemi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oluwafemi from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 83 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Oluwafemi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oluwafemi 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 Oluwafemi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oluwafemis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oluwafemi
The name Oluwafemi is of Yoruba origin and is commonly found in southwestern Nigeria. Yoruba is a Niger-Congo language spoken by the Yoruba people of West Africa. The name is a combination of two words: "Oluwa" meaning "God" or "Lord," and "femi" meaning "loves me" or "loves my crown."
The earliest recorded use of the name Oluwafemi dates back to the late 19th century, during the colonial era in Nigeria. It gained popularity among the Yoruba people as a way to express their traditional beliefs and cultural identity.
In traditional Yoruba culture, names often carried deep spiritual and philosophical meanings. Oluwafemi was given to children with the belief that God loved and protected them. It was a way to express gratitude and seek divine blessings for the child.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Oluwafemi was Oluwafemi Akintola, born in 1910. He was a Nigerian politician and premier of the Western Region of Nigeria from 1960 to 1962.
Another notable figure was Oluwafemi Awolowo, born in 1909 and died in 1987. He was a Nigerian nationalist, writer, and statesman who played a prominent role in Nigeria's struggle for independence from British colonial rule.
In more recent history, Oluwafemi Ogunsola, born in 1953, is a Nigerian journalist and writer known for his contributions to the Nigerian literary scene.
Oluwafemi Okunade, born in 1961, is a Nigerian economist and academic who has served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, one of Nigeria's most prestigious institutions.
Oluwafemi Badejo, born in 1975, is a Nigerian-American actor and stuntman known for his roles in various Hollywood productions, including "The Incredible Hulk" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."
While the name Oluwafemi has its roots in Yoruba culture and tradition, it has gained recognition and popularity beyond Nigeria, particularly among the African diaspora communities around the world.
People
Oluwafemi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oluwafemi 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
Oluwafemi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oluwafemi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oluwafemi 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 1,382,074 US residents.
Is Oluwafemi a common name?
We classify Oluwafemi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oluwafemi most popular?
The single biggest year for Oluwafemi was 2022, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oluwafemi is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Oluwafemi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oluwafemi 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.
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.