Omayra
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "life" or "long-lived".
Name Census estimates that about 752 living Americans carry the first name Omayra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Omayra today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Omayra births was 1970 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Omayra. 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
752
~ 1 in 455,790 Americans
Peak year
1970
68 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2013 SSA rank
#18,586
Tracked since 1969
Popularity
Omayra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Omayra from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 391 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Omayra 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 Omayra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Omayras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Omayra, while Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Omayra
Omayra is a feminine given name of Arabic origin, derived from the root "amr" which means "life" or "to live." The name gained popularity during the medieval Islamic period, particularly in regions where Arabic was the dominant language.
The earliest known record of the name Omayra can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the Islamic golden age. It was a common name among Arab women, particularly those belonging to the elite and affluent classes of society.
In Islamic literature and historical accounts, Omayra is mentioned as the name of several prominent women. One notable example is Umm Omayra, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who was revered for her piety and devotion to the faith.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Omayra spread across various regions of the Islamic world, including the Iberian Peninsula, where it was adopted and adapted by the Moors during their rule over parts of modern-day Spain and Portugal.
As Arabic influence expanded through trade and cultural exchange, the name Omayra also found its way into other languages and cultures. In the 13th century, a notable figure named Omayra Al-Andalusiyya, a renowned poet and scholar from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain), gained recognition for her literary works.
During the Ottoman Empire, which spanned several centuries from the 14th to the early 20th century, Omayra was a popular name among Turkish and other ethnic groups within the empire's vast territories. One notable figure was Omayra Hanim, a 16th-century Ottoman princess and the daughter of Sultan Selim II.
In more recent history, Omayra has been the name of several notable individuals, including Omayra Sánchez, a Colombian girl who tragically lost her life during the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in 1985. Her story captured international attention and became a symbol of the resilience and courage of children in the face of natural disasters.
Other notable individuals named Omayra include Omayra Amín Tawfiq, an Egyptian actress and singer active in the mid-20th century, and Omayra Borges, a Venezuelan model and Miss Venezuela International 2000.
People
Omayra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Omayra 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
Omayra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Omayra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 752 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Omayra 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 455,790 US residents.
Is Omayra a common name?
We classify Omayra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 814 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Omayra most popular?
The single biggest year for Omayra was 1970, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Omayra is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Omayra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Omayra in the SSA data are female. 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.