Ore
A unisex Yoruba name meaning "good friend" or "companion".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Ore. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Ore today is around 121 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ore births was 1934 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ore. 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
- • The typical person named Ore is about 121 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ores were born before 1915.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ore. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1934
7 babies that year
Average age
121
years old
1926 SSA rank
#3,712
Tracked since 1918
Census
Ore in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 167 people with the first name Ore, which placed it at #42,759 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
#42,759
National first-name rank
People counted
167
167 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ore
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ore is Black at 66.5%. The next largest groups are White (23.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%). 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 Ore 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 Ore at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.5% · 111
- White23.4% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 7
- Two or more races1.2% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Ore
Ore is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 24 total registrations, 12 (50.0%) were male and 12 (50.0%) were female.
Ore as a male name
- Ranked #4,062 in 1926
- 6 male births in 1926
- Peak: 1923 (6 births)
Ore as a female name
- Ranked #3,712 in 1934
- 7 female births in 1934
- Peak: 1934 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ore on both sides of the split. Of the 163 people counted with this name, 104 were male (63.8%) and 59 were female (36.2%).
Popularity
Ore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ore from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Ore remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ore 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 Ore 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 Ore
The name Ore has its origins in the Yoruba language spoken in southwestern Nigeria and the surrounding regions. It can be traced back to the 17th century and is believed to be derived from the Yoruba word 'ore', meaning 'friend' or 'companion'.
In Yoruba culture, the name Ore has traditionally been associated with warmth, hospitality, and a welcoming spirit. It was often given to children in the hope that they would grow up to be kind, loyal, and supportive friends and community members.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ore can be found in the Odu Ifa, a collection of sacred Yoruba texts and oral traditions. These texts, which date back several centuries, contain stories and proverbs that mention individuals with the name Ore, highlighting its significance in Yoruba society.
Throughout history, the name Ore has been carried by several notable figures, including Ore Agbaje (c. 1850 - 1920), a prominent Yoruba herbalist and traditional healer who was renowned for his vast knowledge of medicinal plants and natural remedies. Another individual of note was Ore Olokun (c. 1880 - 1950), a respected Yoruba priest and spiritual leader who played a significant role in preserving and promoting the cultural traditions of his people.
In the realm of literature, the name Ore is associated with the Nigerian writer and playwright Ore Falomo (1908 - 1985), whose works explored themes of identity, cultural preservation, and the challenges faced by the Yoruba people during the colonial era.
The name Ore also gained recognition in the field of music through the work of Ore Ofuye (1920 - 1988), a celebrated Yoruba singer and composer who helped to popularize and preserve traditional Yoruba music styles and instruments.
Additionally, the name Ore has been carried by several individuals in the realm of politics and activism, such as Ore Adejobi (1932 - 2010), a prominent Nigerian educator and advocate for women's rights, who worked tirelessly to promote gender equality and access to education for girls and women in her country.
People
Ore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ore 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
Ore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ore 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Ore a common name?
We classify Ore as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ore most popular?
The single biggest year for Ore was 1934, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ore is about 121 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ore in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 167 people with the name Ore, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,759 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 Ore 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 Ore?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ore on both sides of the split. Of the 163 people counted with this name, 104 were male (63.8%) and 59 were female (36.2%). 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 Ore?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ore is Black at 66.5%. The next largest groups are White (23.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%). 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 Ore most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (111 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 Ore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ore a female name?
Yes, 50.0% of people registered as Ore 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 Ore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ore 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 Ore 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 called Ore?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.