Oshaun
A masculine name of Yoruba origin meaning "grace" or "blessings".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Oshaun. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Oshaun today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oshaun births was 2023 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oshaun. 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 Oshaun. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2023
5 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,621
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Oshaun: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Oshaun 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 Oshaun during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Oshaun
The name Oshaun has its origins in the Yoruba culture of West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria and Benin. It is derived from the Yoruba words "Ọshun," meaning "river," and "aun," meaning "from." The name is closely associated with the Yoruba river goddess, Oshun, who is revered for her beauty, fertility, and sensuality.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Oshaun can be found in the Ifa literary corpus, a collection of Yoruba oral traditions and divination texts. These texts, which date back several centuries, mention the name in connection with various rituals and celebrations honoring the goddess Oshun.
In the 16th century, during the height of the transatlantic slave trade, the Yoruba people and their cultural traditions, including their names, were forcibly transported to the Americas, particularly to the Caribbean and parts of South America. As a result, the name Oshaun gained a foothold in these regions and became part of the cultural fabric of Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latino communities.
One notable historical figure with the name Oshaun was Oshaun Oboli, a renowned Yoruba artist and sculptor who lived in the late 18th century. His intricate woodcarvings and mastery of the Yoruba artistic tradition earned him widespread recognition and admiration.
In the 19th century, the name Oshaun appeared in the writings of Cuban poet and activist Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814-1873), who explored Afro-Cuban cultural themes in her works. Her depictions of characters with names like Oshaun helped to preserve and celebrate the rich heritage of the Yoruba people in Cuba.
Another prominent figure with the name Oshaun was Oshaun Oyelola, a Nigerian writer and scholar who lived from 1887 to 1955. He was a pioneer in the study of Yoruba literature and folklore, and his works played a crucial role in preserving the Yoruba cultural heritage for future generations.
In the 20th century, Oshaun Tompkins (1924-2006) was an American artist and educator known for her vibrant abstract paintings and her commitment to promoting African-American art and culture. Her artwork was featured in numerous exhibitions and is held in prestigious collections around the world.
Oshaun Nekhubavi (1937-2002) was a prominent Georgian-Soviet wrestler and Olympic medalist. He won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and was a highly respected figure in the world of sports.
People
Oshaun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oshaun 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
Oshaun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oshaun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oshaun 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Oshaun a common name?
We classify Oshaun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oshaun most popular?
The single biggest year for Oshaun was 2023, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oshaun is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Oshaun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oshaun a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oshaun 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 Oshaun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oshaun 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 Oshaun 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Oshaun?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.