Onalee
Of English origin, a feminine name form meaning "from the lone meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 402 living Americans carry the first name Onalee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Onalee today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Onalee births was 1928 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Onalee. 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
402
~ 1 in 852,623 Americans
Peak year
1928
35 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,844
Tracked since 1904
Census
Onalee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 535 people with the first name Onalee, which placed it at #19,659 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
#19,659
National first-name rank
People counted
535
535 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Onalee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Onalee is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Onalee 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 Onalee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 466
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 28
- Two or more races3.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 10
- Black or African American1.5% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 5
Popularity
Onalee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Onalee from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 246 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
Onalee 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 Onalee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Onalees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Onalee, while Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 97 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Onalee
The name Onalee is believed to have its origins in the Native American languages of the Southeastern United States, particularly those spoken by the Muskogean tribes such as the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek. It is thought to be derived from the Choctaw word "anolí" which means "to bear" or "to carry," suggesting a connection to strength, endurance, or perhaps even motherhood.
While the name's exact roots and meaning are not entirely certain, it has been used by Native American communities for centuries. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical records and documents from the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly those related to interactions between Native American tribes and European settlers or explorers.
One notable historical figure with the name Onalee was Onalee Tahmahkera, a Choctaw woman who lived in the early 19th century. She played a significant role in preserving and passing down the cultural traditions and stories of her tribe to future generations, ensuring their survival despite the challenges faced by Native American communities during that time.
Another individual bearing the name was Onalee Qualla, a Cherokee woman born in the late 18th century. She was known for her skills as a potter and her beautiful ceramic works, which have become treasured artifacts showcasing the artistry of her people.
In the realm of literature, the name Onalee appears in the novel "The Dance of the Otter" by Michael C. Whyte, published in 1997. The character Onalee is a young Native American girl who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and connects with her ancestral roots.
Moving into the 20th century, Onalee Ridenhour was a Choctaw artist and activist born in 1939. She dedicated her life to promoting and preserving Native American art, culture, and traditions, and her works have been showcased in various exhibitions and museums.
Another notable figure is Onalee Greenleaf, a Choctaw nurse and educator born in 1928. She played a crucial role in improving healthcare access and education for Native American communities, working tirelessly to address the disparities they faced in these areas.
While the name Onalee may not be as common today as some other Native American names, it carries a rich cultural heritage and a connection to the strength, resilience, and traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern United States.
People
Onalee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Onalee 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
Onalee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Onalee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 402 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Onalee 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 852,623 US residents.
Is Onalee a common name?
We classify Onalee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 999 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Onalee most popular?
The single biggest year for Onalee was 1928, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Onalee is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Onalee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 535 people with the name Onalee, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,659 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 Onalee 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 Onalee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Onalee appears almost entirely female. Of the 533 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Onalee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Onalee is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Onalee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Onalee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (466 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 Onalee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Onalee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Onalee 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 Onalee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Onalee 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 Onalee 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 Onalee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.