Omaru
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "he who dwells" or "builder".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Omaru. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Omaru today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Omaru births was 2003 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Omaru. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Omaru. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2003
5 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,235
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Omaru: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Omaru 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 Omaru during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Omaru
The name Omaru has its roots in the Swahili language, which is spoken primarily in East Africa and parts of Central Africa. It originated around the 8th century AD, during the time of the Bantu expansion across the region.
Omaru is derived from the Arabic name Omar, which itself comes from the Arabic word "aamar" meaning "to flourish" or "to thrive." The name was likely introduced to the Swahili language and culture through Arab traders and settlers who had extensive contact with the East African coast during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Omaru can be found in the Swahili epic poem "Utendi wa Tambuka," which dates back to the 16th century. The poem tells the story of a merchant named Omaru who travels from the Swahili coast to the interior of Africa.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Omaru. One of the most famous was Omaru bin Al-Khattab, who lived from 586 to 644 AD and was the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 634 to 644 AD. He played a pivotal role in the early expansion of Islam and is revered as a significant figure in Islamic history.
Another historical figure with the name Omaru was Omaru Bey, a 19th-century Ottoman governor of the Libyan province of Tripolitania. He ruled from 1835 to 1859 and is credited with modernizing the region's infrastructure and improving its defenses.
In the realm of literature, Omaru Kinte was a Gambian writer and scholar who lived from 1923 to 2005. He was a renowned poet and playwright, and his works often explored themes of African identity and cultural heritage.
Omaru Mubarak, born in 1900 and died in 1972, was a Tanzanian politician and one of the founding fathers of the country. He served as the first Prime Minister of Tanganyika (now Tanzania) from 1961 to 1962 and played a crucial role in the nation's independence movement.
Lastly, Omaru Bakari was a 20th-century Zanzibari artist and sculptor, known for his intricate wood carvings that depicted scenes from Swahili culture and daily life. His works are considered treasures of Zanzibari art and are exhibited in museums around the world.
People
Omaru + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Omaru 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
Omaru: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Omaru?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Omaru 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Omaru a common name?
We classify Omaru as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Omaru most popular?
The single biggest year for Omaru was 2003, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Omaru is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Omaru in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Omaru a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Omaru 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 Omaru still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Omaru 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 Omaru 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Omaru?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.