Ondina
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "little wave" or "wavelet".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Ondina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ondina today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ondina births was 1968 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ondina. 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 Ondina. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1968
15 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1968 SSA rank
#3,564
Tracked since 1968
Census
Ondina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 717 people with the first name Ondina, which placed it at #15,898 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
#15,898
National first-name rank
People counted
717
717 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ondina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ondina is Hispanic at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.7%) and Black (3.1%). 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 Ondina 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 Ondina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino85.8% · 615
- White10.7% · 77
- Black or African American3.1% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Ondina: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ondina 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 Ondina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 15 | 15 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ondina
The name Ondina has its origins in the Romance languages, derived from the Latin word "unda" meaning "wave." It is believed to have first emerged as a name during the medieval period in Italy and other parts of Southern Europe.
Ondina is closely associated with water nymphs or mermaids in various mythological and literary traditions. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 1839 German novel "Undine" by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, which tells the story of a water nymph who falls in love with a knight.
In Italian folklore, Ondina is often depicted as a beautiful mermaid-like creature who lures sailors to their demise with her enchanting voice and appearance. This connection to the sea and water spirits has made the name popular in coastal regions of Italy and other Mediterranean countries.
One notable historical figure with the name Ondina was Ondina Valla (1916-2012), an Italian actress and dancer who appeared in numerous films during the golden age of Italian cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was known for her graceful movements and her performances in movies like "The Glass Mountain" (1949) and "The Girl Who Couldn't Say No" (1940).
Another prominent Ondina was Ondina Otero (1936-2021), a Venezuelan artist and sculptor renowned for her abstract and figurative works. Her sculptures, often featuring feminine forms, can be found in various public spaces and museums throughout Venezuela and other parts of Latin America.
In the world of literature, Ondina Bratschi (1880-1961) was a Swiss writer and poet who gained recognition for her lyrical works and her contributions to the Swiss German literary scene in the early 20th century. Her poetry collections, such as "Herbstgedichte" (Autumn Poems), explored themes of nature and the human experience.
Another figure of note is Ondina Peteani (1925-2003), an Italian stage and film actress who was particularly active in the 1950s and 1960s. She appeared in numerous Italian productions, including the acclaimed film "The Wayward Wife" (1958), directed by Mario Camerini.
Finally, Ondina Santana (born 1957) is a Mexican painter and visual artist known for her vibrant and expressive works that often depict scenes from everyday life and explore themes of identity and culture. Her paintings have been exhibited in various galleries and museums across Mexico and internationally.
People
Ondina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ondina 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
Ondina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ondina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ondina 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Ondina a common name?
We classify Ondina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ondina most popular?
The single biggest year for Ondina was 1968, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ondina is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ondina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 717 people with the name Ondina, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,898 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 Ondina 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 Ondina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ondina appears almost entirely female. Of the 718 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Ondina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ondina is Hispanic at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.7%) and Black (3.1%). 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 Ondina most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ondina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (615 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 Ondina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ondina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ondina 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 Ondina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ondina 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 Ondina 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 Ondina as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Ondina, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.