Omar
A masculine Arabic name meaning "long-lived" or "prosperous".
Name Census estimates that about 100,245 living Americans carry the first name Omar. It sits at #260 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Omar today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Omar births was 2007 (3,223 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Omar. 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 Omar with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Omar is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 456 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
100K
~ 1 in 3,419 Americans
Peak year
2007
3,223 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#260
Tracked since 1880
Census
Omar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 126,838 people with the first name Omar, which placed it at #444 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
#444
National first-name rank
People counted
127K
126,838 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
42.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
67.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Omar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Omar is Hispanic at 67.6%. The next largest groups are White (15.4%) and Black (11.5%). 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 Omar 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 Omar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino67.6% · 85,795
- White15.4% · 19,474
- Black or African American11.5% · 14,554
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 4,501
- Two or more races1.8% · 2,338
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 176
Gender
Gender distribution for Omar
Out of the 105,556 babies given the name Omar since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Omar as a male name
- Ranked #260 in 2024
- 1,343 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (3,216 births)
Omar as a female name
- Ranked #18,445 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1992 (21 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Omar appears almost entirely male. Of the 126,840 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Omar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Omar from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 28,222 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
Omar 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 Omar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Omars live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Omar, while New Hampshire, West Virginia, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,248 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Omar
The name Omar has its roots in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "aamara," which means "to live" or "to thrive." It is a name that has been in use since the early days of Islam, and its origins can be traced back to the 7th century.
One of the earliest and most notable historical figures to bear the name Omar was Omar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. He ruled from 634 to 644 CE and played a crucial role in the expansion of the Islamic empire. Omar is remembered for his contributions to Islamic jurisprudence and his efforts to establish a system of governance based on the principles of the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
The name Omar appears in several ancient texts and religious scriptures, including the Quran and the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). In the Quran, the name is mentioned in the context of a righteous man who was guided by God. This association with righteousness and spiritual guidance has contributed to the name's enduring popularity among Muslims.
Throughout history, numerous notable individuals have borne the name Omar. One of the earliest recorded examples is Omar Khayyam, a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet who lived from 1048 to 1131 CE. His contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy were significant, and his poetic works, particularly the Rubaiyat, have become widely celebrated.
Another prominent figure was Omar Mukhtar, a Libyan revolutionary and resistance leader who fought against Italian colonization in the early 20th century. He was born in 1858 and executed by the Italian authorities in 1931, but his legacy as a symbol of resistance and national unity in Libya remains strong.
In the realm of literature, Omar Lara Ressurreccion, a Filipino writer and poet, made significant contributions to the literary landscape of his country. He was born in 1907 and passed away in 1979, leaving behind a rich body of work that explored themes of nationalism, social justice, and cultural identity.
Lastly, Omar Sharif, an Egyptian actor, was a prominent figure in the world of cinema. Born in 1932, he achieved international fame for his performances in films such as "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago." His charismatic presence and acting talent earned him numerous accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Omar, a name that carries a rich cultural heritage and a strong association with spiritual guidance, righteousness, and resilience.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Omar
People
Omar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Omar 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
Omar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Omar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100,245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Omar 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 3,419 US residents.
Is Omar a common name?
We classify Omar as "Common". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 105,556 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Omar most popular?
The single biggest year for Omar was 2007, when 3,223 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Omar is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Omar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 126,838 people with the name Omar, or 42.00 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #444 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 Omar 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 Omar?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Omar appears almost entirely male. Of the 126,840 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Omar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Omar is Hispanic at 67.6%. The next largest groups are White (15.4%) and Black (11.5%). 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 Omar most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Omar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.6% (85,795 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 Omar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Omar a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Omar 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 Omar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Omar 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 Omar 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 are called Omar?
You can see how many people share the name Omar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.