Oluwaseyi
A feminine Yoruba name meaning "God chooses the wealthy one".
Name Census estimates that about 318 living Americans carry the first name Oluwaseyi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Oluwaseyi today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oluwaseyi births was 2005 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oluwaseyi. 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 Oluwaseyi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
318
~ 1 in 1,077,844 Americans
Peak year
2005
22 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,598
Tracked since 1994
Census
Oluwaseyi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 733 people with the first name Oluwaseyi, which placed it at #15,631 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
#15,631
National first-name rank
People counted
733
733 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oluwaseyi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oluwaseyi is Black at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and White (1.2%). 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 Oluwaseyi 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 Oluwaseyi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.5% · 700
- Two or more races1.4% · 10
- White1.2% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Oluwaseyi
Oluwaseyi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 322 total registrations, 232 (72.0%) were male and 90 (28.0%) were female.
Oluwaseyi as a male name
- Ranked #9,598 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2002 (14 births)
Oluwaseyi as a female name
- Ranked #17,351 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2005 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Oluwaseyi on both sides of the split. Of the 721 people counted with this name, 475 were male (65.9%) and 246 were female (34.1%).
Popularity
Oluwaseyi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oluwaseyi from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 148 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oluwaseyi 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 Oluwaseyi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oluwaseyis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oluwaseyi
Oluwaseyi is a given name of Yoruba origin, derived from the West African language spoken primarily in southwestern Nigeria. The name is a combination of two words: "Olu" meaning "Lord" or "Owner" and "Waseyi" meaning "wealth" or "riches." Thus, the name Oluwaseyi can be interpreted as "Lord of Wealth" or "Owner of Riches."
The Yoruba people are an ethnic group indigenous to present-day southwestern Nigeria and the surrounding region. Their culture and language have been influential in West Africa for centuries, dating back to the ancient Oyo Empire, which flourished between the 14th and 19th centuries. The name Oluwaseyi likely originated during this period, reflecting the Yoruba cultural values of prosperity and abundance.
While there are no known direct references to the name Oluwaseyi in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is deeply rooted in the Yoruba tradition of bestowing meaningful names upon newborns. These names often carry blessings, prayers, or aspirations for the child's future.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Oluwaseyi can be found in the late 18th century, when it was given to a prominent Yoruba chief and landowner. Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne this name, including:
1. Oluwaseyi Ogunpolu (1923-2002), a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist known for his contributions to education and community development.
2. Oluwaseyi Akindele (born 1951), a Nigerian academic and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
3. Oluwaseyi Olugbile (born 1967), a Nigerian-American artist and sculptor known for his intricate woodcarvings.
4. Oluwaseyi Sosanya (born 1978), a British actor best known for his role in the television series "The Frankenstein Chronicles."
5. Oluwaseyi Olorunleke (born 1985), a Nigerian professional basketball player who has played in several European leagues.
These individuals, hailing from various fields and backgrounds, have carried the name Oluwaseyi and contributed to their respective professions and societies. While the name's origins can be traced back to ancient Yoruba culture, its enduring presence throughout history serves as a testament to the lasting influence of West African traditions and the universality of names imbued with meaningful aspirations.
People
Oluwaseyi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oluwaseyi 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
Oluwaseyi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oluwaseyi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 318 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oluwaseyi 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 1,077,844 US residents.
Is Oluwaseyi a common name?
We classify Oluwaseyi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 322 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oluwaseyi most popular?
The single biggest year for Oluwaseyi was 2005, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oluwaseyi is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oluwaseyi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 733 people with the name Oluwaseyi, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,631 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 Oluwaseyi 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 Oluwaseyi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Oluwaseyi on both sides of the split. Of the 721 people counted with this name, 475 were male (65.9%) and 246 were female (34.1%). 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 Oluwaseyi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oluwaseyi is Black at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and White (1.2%). 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 Oluwaseyi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oluwaseyi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (700 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 Oluwaseyi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oluwaseyi a male name?
Yes, 72.0% of people registered as Oluwaseyi 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 Oluwaseyi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oluwaseyi 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 Oluwaseyi 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 common is the name Oluwaseyi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.