Osei
African masculine name meaning "adventurer" or "God survives".
Name Census estimates that about 227 living Americans carry the first name Osei. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Osei today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Osei births was 1981 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Osei. 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 Osei with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
227
~ 1 in 1,509,931 Americans
Peak year
1981
11 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,738
Tracked since 1974
Census
Osei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 549 people with the first name Osei, which placed it at #19,324 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
#19,324
National first-name rank
People counted
549
549 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Osei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Osei is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Osei 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 Osei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.3% · 496
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 21
- Two or more races2.9% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 11
- White0.9% · 5
Popularity
Osei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Osei from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 55 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Osei 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 Osei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oseis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Osei
The name Osei is of Akan origin, deriving from the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. It has its roots in the Twi language spoken by the Akan. The name can be traced back to the 17th century during the height of the Ashanti Empire, one of the most powerful states in the region.
Osei is believed to have evolved from the Akan word 'ɔse', which means 'priest' or 'spiritual leader'. This likely reflects the deep connection the Akan people had with their spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as the important role played by religious figures in their society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Osei can be found in the Akan oral tradition, where it appears in stories and folktales passed down through generations. These tales often featured characters with the name Osei, highlighting its cultural significance.
In the 18th century, Osei Tutu I (c. 1695-1717) was an influential Asantehene (king) of the Ashanti Empire. He is credited with expanding the empire's territory and consolidating its power through military conquests and diplomatic alliances. His reign marked a golden age for the Ashanti people.
Another notable figure was Osei Bonsu (c. 1810-1884), a powerful chief and military leader from the Ashanti region. He played a pivotal role in the wars against the British during the latter half of the 19th century, leading the Ashanti resistance against colonial expansion.
In more recent times, Osei Kwadwo Prempeh II (1892-1970) was the 15th Asantehene of the Ashanti Confederacy. He was a vocal advocate for Ashanti sovereignty and played a significant role in the fight for Ghana's independence from British colonial rule.
Another notable figure is Osei Tutu II (1950-present), the current Asantehene and the 16th ruler of the Ashanti Kingdom. He has been instrumental in preserving Ashanti culture and traditions while also promoting development and education in the region.
Osei Agyeman Prempeh (1910-1989) was a Ghanaian politician and diplomat who served as the first Asante Omanhene (paramount chief) after Ghana's independence. He played a crucial role in the country's transition to self-governance and worked to bridge the gap between traditional authority and modern governance.
People
Osei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Osei 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
Osei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Osei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 227 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Osei 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 1,509,931 US residents.
Is Osei a common name?
We classify Osei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 233 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Osei most popular?
The single biggest year for Osei was 1981, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Osei is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Osei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 549 people with the name Osei, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,324 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 Osei 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 Osei?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Osei appears almost entirely male. Of the 550 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Osei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Osei is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Osei most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Osei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (496 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 Osei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Osei a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Osei 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 Osei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Osei 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 Osei 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 Osei?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.