Onaje
A masculine African name meaning "he who soars like an eagle".
Name Census estimates that about 105 living Americans carry the first name Onaje. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Onaje today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Onaje births was 1992 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Onaje. 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
105
~ 1 in 3,264,327 Americans
Peak year
1992
9 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,603
Tracked since 1972
Census
Onaje in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 151 people with the first name Onaje, which placed it at #45,179 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
#45,179
National first-name rank
People counted
151
151 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Onaje
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Onaje is Black at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Onaje 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 Onaje at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.4% · 129
- Two or more races7.3% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Onaje: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Onaje from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 50 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Onaje 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 Onaje during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Onaje
The name Onaje originates from the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. Its roots can be traced back to the 15th century during the height of the Oyo Empire. The name is believed to be derived from the Yoruba words "ona" meaning "path" or "way" and "ije" meaning "to go" or "to walk." The combination suggests a meaning related to a journey or finding one's way in life.
In ancient Yoruba culture, names held significant importance and were often chosen to reflect the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or to bestow specific attributes and aspirations upon the individual. The name Onaje may have been given to children born during times of travel or migration, symbolizing the journey their family embarked upon.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Onaje can be found in the 16th century Yoruba oral tradition, where it appears in a folktale about a young boy who embarked on a spiritual quest to find his purpose. This folktale is believed to have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural significance of the name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Onaje:
1. Onaje Parnell (1953-present), an American jazz pianist and composer known for his fusion of traditional jazz with elements of funk and R&B.
2. Onaje X.O. Woodbine (1942-2022), an American author, activist, and religious leader who advocated for the empowerment of African Americans.
3. Onaje Maris (1937-1998), a Trinidadian-born American jazz drummer and percussionist who performed with notable artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Yusef Lateef.
4. Onaje Gumbs (1949-present), an American artist and sculptor known for her mixed media works exploring themes of identity, culture, and spirituality.
5. Onaje Ezekwenna (1962-present), a Nigerian academic and environmental activist who has championed sustainable development initiatives in West Africa.
While the name Onaje has its roots in the Yoruba culture, it has gained recognition and resonance across various communities, with individuals from diverse backgrounds embracing its symbolic meaning and cultural significance.
People
Onaje + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Onaje 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
Onaje: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Onaje?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Onaje 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 3,264,327 US residents.
Is Onaje a common name?
We classify Onaje as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Onaje most popular?
The single biggest year for Onaje was 1992, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Onaje is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Onaje in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 151 people with the name Onaje, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,179 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 Onaje 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 Onaje?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Onaje leans strongly male. 141 people counted with this name were male (93.4%), compared with 10 female bearers (6.6%). 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 Onaje?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Onaje is Black at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Onaje most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Onaje in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (129 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 Onaje in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Onaje a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Onaje 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 Onaje still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Onaje 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 Onaje 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 have Onaje as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Onaje on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.