Onan
A Biblical masculine name meaning "vigorous" or "strong".
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Onan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Onan today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Onan births was 2024 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Onan. 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 Onan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
2024
10 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,131
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Onan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Onan from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 24 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Onan 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 Onan 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 Onan
The given name Onan has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "onan," which means "strong" or "vigorous." The name is closely associated with a character from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament.
In Genesis 38, Onan was the second son of Judah, one of the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob. According to the biblical account, after his elder brother Er died childless, Onan was instructed to perform the duty of a levirate marriage, which involved him fathering children with his brother's widow, Tamar. However, Onan refused to comply with this custom, and his actions led to his untimely death, as described in the scripture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Onan appears in this biblical narrative, which dates back to around the 15th century BCE. The story of Onan has been interpreted in various ways by different religious traditions and scholars over the centuries, often serving as a cautionary tale or a moral lesson.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the given name Onan, although it has not been a particularly common name. One of the earliest examples is Onan the Ishmaelite, mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah (4th century BCE), who was involved in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.
In the 1st century CE, there was a Jewish scholar named Onan ben Bathyra, who is mentioned in the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism. He was known for his contributions to the interpretation of Jewish law and tradition.
During the Middle Ages, there was an Onan who served as a bishop of Constance in present-day Germany in the early 9th century CE. He played a role in the religious and political affairs of the Carolingian Empire during that period.
In more recent history, Onan Langen (1859-1909) was a Norwegian novelist and playwright who made significant contributions to the literary scene in Norway during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Another notable figure was Onan John Abbott (1856-1936), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas in the early 20th century.
While the name Onan has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture and has been borne by individuals throughout history, it has remained a relatively uncommon given name in most societies and time periods.
People
Onan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Onan 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
Onan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Onan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Onan 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Onan a common name?
We classify Onan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Onan most popular?
The single biggest year for Onan was 2024, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Onan is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Onan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Onan 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.
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.