Ondine
A feminine French name derived from "undine", meaning a water nymph or mermaid in German mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Ondine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ondine today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ondine births was 2013 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ondine. 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 Ondine with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
2013
15 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,789
Tracked since 1961
Census
Ondine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 244 people with the first name Ondine, which placed it at #33,765 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
#33,765
National first-name rank
People counted
244
244 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ondine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ondine is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.8%) and Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Ondine 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 Ondine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.0% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino16.8% · 41
- Two or more races9.4% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 8
- Black or African American2.5% · 6
Popularity
Ondine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ondine from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 93 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ondine 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 Ondine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ondines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ondine
The name Ondine has its origins in French mythology and folklore. It is derived from the French word "ondine," which means "little wave" or "wavelet." The name is associated with water nymphs or spirits known as undines, who were believed to inhabit rivers, streams, and other bodies of water.
In ancient Greek mythology, the undines were considered to be a type of nymph, similar to the naiads, who were associated with freshwater sources. The concept of water nymphs can be traced back to various ancient cultures and their mythological traditions, but the specific name "Ondine" emerged in the Middle Ages through French literature and folklore.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Ondine can be found in the 14th-century French romance "Ondine," written by the German author Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. In this story, Ondine is a water nymph who falls in love with a human knight and gains an immortal soul through their union. The tale explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the intertwining of the mortal and supernatural realms.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ondine. One of the earliest was Ondine de Champdivers (c. 1480-1537), a French noblewoman and mistress of King Francis I of France. She played a significant role in the French court during the Renaissance period.
In the world of literature, Ondine Valmore (1820-1899) was a French poet and writer, known for her contributions to the Romantic movement. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the realm of music, Ondine Vilar (1903-1975) was a French soprano who performed in operas and concerts throughout Europe during the mid-20th century. Her performances in works by composers such as Debussy and Ravel were highly acclaimed.
Another notable individual with the name Ondine was Ondine Ahman (1889-1976), a Swedish artist and sculptor. She was renowned for her innovative ceramic works and her contributions to the modernist art movement in Scandinavia.
More recently, Ondine Chavoya (born 1986) is a Mexican actress and model who has appeared in various television series and films in Latin America. Her name has helped to keep the legacy of the mythical water nymph alive in popular culture.
People
Ondine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ondine 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
Ondine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ondine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ondine 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 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Ondine a common name?
We classify Ondine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 148 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ondine most popular?
The single biggest year for Ondine was 2013, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ondine is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ondine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 244 people with the name Ondine, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,765 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 Ondine 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 Ondine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ondine leans strongly female. 237 people counted with this name were female (97.5%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.5%). 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 Ondine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ondine is White at 68.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.8%) and Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Ondine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ondine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.0% (166 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 Ondine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ondine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ondine 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 Ondine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ondine 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 Ondine 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 are named Ondine?
Want to know how many Americans are named Ondine? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.