Oshun
River deity or freshwater source in Yoruba mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 228 living Americans carry the first name Oshun. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Oshun today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oshun births was 2022 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oshun. 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.
People living today
228
~ 1 in 1,503,309 Americans
Peak year
2022
38 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,485
Tracked since 2002
Gender
Gender distribution for Oshun
Oshun leans heavily female at 83.0% of total registrations, but 39 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Oshun as a male name
- Ranked #8,133 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (10 births)
Oshun as a female name
- Ranked #7,485 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (30 births)
Popularity
Oshun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oshun from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 165 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oshun 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 Oshun during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oshuns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Oshun
Oshun is a name that originates from the Yoruba culture of West Africa, specifically Nigeria and the surrounding regions. It is derived from the name of the Yoruba river goddess, Oshun, who is associated with love, fertility, and wealth.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Oshun can be found in the Ifa literary corpus, a collection of sacred texts that form the basis of the Yoruba spiritual and philosophical system. In these texts, Oshun is depicted as a powerful and benevolent deity who oversees the fresh waters and ensures the prosperity of her devotees.
One of the most notable historical references to Oshun can be found in the Odu Ifa, a series of spiritual verses that outline the various aspects of Yoruba cosmology. These verses describe Oshun as the embodiment of feminine grace, beauty, and sensuality, as well as a protector of women and children.
While the name Oshun has been in use for centuries among the Yoruba people, it gained wider recognition during the transatlantic slave trade, when many West African cultural practices and beliefs were carried to the Americas. In the Caribbean and parts of South America, the worship of Oshun was preserved and adapted, leading to the formation of syncretic religious traditions like Santería and Candomblé.
Some notable historical figures who bore the name Oshun include:
1. Oshun Tuntun (16th century), a powerful Yoruba queen and warrior who ruled over the town of Ede in present-day Nigeria.
2. Oshun Okunnuse (18th century), a renowned Yoruba herbalist and healer who was revered for her knowledge of traditional medicine.
3. Oshun Adekolu (19th century), a highly respected Yoruba chief and advisor to the Alafin (king) of Oyo, one of the most powerful West African empires of the time.
4. Oshun Aladesanmi (1892-1972), a Nigerian teacher and women's rights activist who advocated for equal education opportunities for girls.
5. Oshun Gbadamosi (1920-2008), a Nigerian sculptor and artist who was known for her intricate wood carvings and depictions of Yoruba deities.
Throughout history, the name Oshun has been a powerful symbol of the rich cultural heritage and spiritual traditions of the Yoruba people, as well as a testament to the enduring influence of West African cultures on the global diaspora.
People
Oshun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oshun 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
Oshun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oshun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oshun 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 1,503,309 US residents.
Is Oshun a common name?
We classify Oshun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 229 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oshun most popular?
The single biggest year for Oshun was 2022, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oshun is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Oshun a female name?
Yes, 83.0% of people registered as Oshun 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.
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.