Ona
Of Hawaiian origin, a feminine name meaning "the generous one".
Name Census estimates that about 2,023 living Americans carry the first name Ona. It is a predominantly female name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Ona today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ona births was 1917 (191 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ona. 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 Ona with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Ona is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 92 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 169,429 Americans
Peak year
1917
191 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1939 SSA rank
#3,836
Tracked since 1880
Census
Ona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,490 people with the first name Ona, which placed it at #6,439 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
#6,439
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,490 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ona is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Ona 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 Ona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.5% · 1,830
- Black or African American12.3% · 306
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 149
- Two or more races4.7% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 33
Gender
Gender distribution for Ona
Ona leans heavily female at 98.9% of total registrations, but 92 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ona as a male name
- Ranked #3,836 in 1939
- 5 male births in 1939
- Peak: 1915 (12 births)
Ona as a female name
- Ranked #4,732 in 2024
- 29 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1916 (185 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ona leans strongly female. 2,423 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 64 male bearers (2.6%).
Popularity
Ona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ona from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,480 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ona 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 Ona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Onas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Ona, while Oregon, South Dakota, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 92 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ona
The name Ona has its origins in the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a feminine name derived from the Hawaiian word 'ona', which means 'beautiful' or 'delightful'. The name has been in use in Hawaii for centuries and is believed to have been given to newborn girls whose beauty was seen as a gift from the gods.
In ancient Hawaiian mythology, there are several references to the name Ona. One of the most notable is the story of the goddess Pele, the deity of fire and volcanoes. According to legend, Pele had a younger sister named Ona, who was known for her grace and beauty. Ona was said to be a skilled dancer and her movements were compared to the gentle swaying of the ocean waves.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ona can be traced back to the 18th century. One of the first notable individuals to bear the name was Ona Kaʻohelelani, a Hawaiian chiefess who lived during the late 1700s. She was known for her intelligence and leadership skills, and played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have been named Ona. In the 19th century, Ona Paishon was a Native American activist from the Choctaw Nation, who advocated for the rights of her people during the era of forced relocation and the Trail of Tears.
Another notable Ona was Ona Jacobson, a Swedish-American artist and illustrator who lived from 1899 to 1968. She was known for her vibrant and colorful illustrations, which often featured scenes from nature and the natural world.
In the 20th century, Ona Munson was an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood films. She was born in 1903 and her career spanned several decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Ona Simanavičienė was a Lithuanian writer and activist who lived from 1899 to 1970. She was a prominent figure in the Lithuanian independence movement and her works often explored themes of national identity and the struggle for freedom.
People
Ona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ona 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
Ona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,023 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ona 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 169,429 US residents.
Is Ona a common name?
We classify Ona as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,009 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ona most popular?
The single biggest year for Ona was 1917, when 191 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ona is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,490 people with the name Ona, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,439 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 Ona 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 Ona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ona leans strongly female. 2,423 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 64 male bearers (2.6%). 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 Ona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ona is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Ona most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.5% (1,830 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 Ona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ona a female name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Ona 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.
Is Ona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ona 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 Ona 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 Ona?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.