Osby
A masculine Scandinavian name of uncertain etymology.
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Osby. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Osby today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Osby births was 1922 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Osby. 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 Osby is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Osbys were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Osby. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
1922
10 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1970 SSA rank
#4,588
Tracked since 1912
Census
Osby in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 99 people with the first name Osby, which placed it at #53,419 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
#53,419
National first-name rank
People counted
99
99 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Osby
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Osby is Black at 68.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (11.1%). 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 Osby 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 Osby at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.7% · 68
- White16.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino11.1% · 11
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
Popularity
Osby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Osby from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 51 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
Osby 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 Osby 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 Osby
The name Osby is a Scandinavian name with origins dating back to the Viking age. It is derived from the Old Norse words "ōs" meaning "river mouth" and "býr" meaning "village" or "settlement". This suggests that the name originally referred to a person who lived in a village located near the mouth of a river.
During the Viking era, the name was commonly found in areas of modern-day Sweden and Norway, particularly in coastal regions where settlements were often established near river mouths for ease of trade and transportation. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in runic inscriptions and Norse sagas from the 9th and 10th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Osby was a Viking chieftain who led a raid on the English coastline in the late 9th century. His exploits were documented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record compiled during the reign of King Alfred the Great.
Another notable figure was Osby Halvorsson, a Norwegian farmer and landowner who lived in the 13th century. He is mentioned in several legal documents and land deeds from the time, providing insight into the lives of ordinary people during the medieval period.
In the 16th century, Osby Eriksson was a Swedish merchant and ship owner who played a significant role in the growth of maritime trade in the Baltic region. His personal correspondence and business records have been preserved, offering a glimpse into the commercial activities of the era.
During the 17th century, Osby Andersson was a respected Lutheran minister who served in various parishes across Sweden. He was known for his eloquent sermons and his dedication to educating the local populace, leaving behind a collection of writings that shed light on the religious and social climate of the time.
In the 19th century, Osby Johannesson was a Norwegian explorer and naturalist who undertook several expeditions to the Arctic regions. His detailed accounts of the flora and fauna he encountered, as well as his observations of the indigenous communities, provided valuable insights into these remote areas and their inhabitants.
While the name Osby is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of Scandinavian cultural heritage, carrying with it the legacy of the Viking age and the rich history of the region.
People
Osby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Osby 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
Osby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Osby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Osby 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 Osby a common name?
We classify Osby 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, 150 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Osby most popular?
The single biggest year for Osby was 1922, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Osby is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Osby in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 99 people with the name Osby, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,419 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 Osby 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 Osby?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Osby leans strongly male. 100 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 4 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Osby?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Osby is Black at 68.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (11.1%). 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 Osby most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Osby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.7% (68 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 Osby in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Osby a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Osby 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.
Is Osby still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Osby 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 Osby 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 the name Osby?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Osby, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.