Oumou
A feminine West African name meaning "born on a Friday".
Name Census estimates that about 716 living Americans carry the first name Oumou. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oumou today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oumou births was 2013 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oumou. 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 Oumou with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
716
~ 1 in 478,707 Americans
Peak year
2013
43 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,343
Tracked since 1996
Census
Oumou in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 974 people with the first name Oumou, which placed it at #12,687 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
#12,687
National first-name rank
People counted
974
974 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
97.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oumou
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oumou is Black at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Oumou 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 Oumou at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American97.9% · 954
- White0.8% · 8
- Two or more races0.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Oumou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oumou from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 309 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Oumou remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oumou 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 Oumou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oumous live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Oumou, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 122 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oumou
The name Oumou is of West African origin, specifically from the Bambara language spoken in Mali. It is derived from the word "oumou" which means "one who endures" or "one who perseveres." The name is believed to have been in use since medieval times among the Bambara people, who are one of the largest ethnic groups in Mali.
Oumou is a name that carries a significant cultural and historical significance in the region. It is often associated with strength, resilience, and perseverance, qualities that were highly valued in the harsh environmental conditions of the Sahel region. The name was commonly given to girls who were born during times of hardship or adversity, as a way of bestowing upon them the strength and determination to endure and overcome challenges.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Oumou can be found in the epic poem "The Sundiata Epic," which dates back to the 13th century. This epic poem tells the story of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire, and features a character named Oumou Camara, who was a prominent figure in the narrative.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Oumou. One of the most renowned is Oumou Sangaré (born in 1968), a celebrated Malian singer and songwriter who has been hailed as the "Songbird of Wassoulou." Her music often addresses social and political issues, and she has been recognized for her efforts in promoting women's rights and empowerment.
Another prominent figure is Oumou Bah (born in 1987), a Guinean woman who gained international recognition for her courageous actions during the 2009 Conakry massacre in Guinea. Despite being brutally attacked and raped, she became a powerful voice for the victims and played a crucial role in seeking justice and accountability.
In the literary world, Oumou Diarra (1933-1978) was a pioneering Malian author and poet who wrote extensively about the struggles and experiences of women in West Africa. Her works, such as "La Violeté de Samarcande," are considered important contributions to Francophone African literature.
Oumou Sow Huchard (born in 1945) is a French politician and human rights activist of Malian descent who has been a prominent voice for immigrant rights and social justice in France. She served as a member of the European Parliament and has been recognized for her advocacy work.
Oumou Sidibé (born in 1949) is a Malian visual artist and sculptor known for her intricate textile works that celebrate the cultural traditions and heritage of her homeland. Her art has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums around the world.
People
Oumou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oumou 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
Oumou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oumou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 716 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oumou 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 478,707 US residents.
Is Oumou a common name?
We classify Oumou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 724 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oumou most popular?
The single biggest year for Oumou was 2013, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oumou is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oumou in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 974 people with the name Oumou, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,687 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 Oumou 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 Oumou?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oumou appears almost entirely female. Of the 976 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Oumou?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oumou is Black at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Oumou most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oumou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (954 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 Oumou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oumou a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oumou 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 Oumou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oumou 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 Oumou 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 common is the name Oumou?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Oumou at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.