Ourania
Of Greek origin, meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the first name Ourania. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ourania today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ourania births was 1976 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ourania. 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
103
~ 1 in 3,327,712 Americans
Peak year
1976
12 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2016 SSA rank
#15,755
Tracked since 1963
Popularity
Ourania: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ourania from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 53 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Ourania remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ourania 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 Ourania 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 Ourania
The name Ourania has its origins in Ancient Greek, derived from the word "ouranos", meaning "heaven" or "sky". It is the feminine form of the name Ouranos, who in Greek mythology was the personification of the sky and one of the primordial deities. Ourania was used as an epithet for the Greek goddess Aphrodite, referring to her celestial aspect and identification with the planet Venus.
In ancient times, Ourania was associated with the study of celestial bodies and astronomy. The name appears in various philosophical and literary works of the classical Greek era, including the writings of Plato and Aristotle.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ourania was Ourania of Thebes, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived around the 4th century BCE. She is known for her contributions to the field of geometry and for being one of the few female intellectuals of her time.
In the Byzantine era, Ourania was a relatively common name among the Greek-speaking population. One notable figure was Ourania Palaiologina, a Byzantine princess who lived in the 14th century and was the daughter of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
During the Renaissance period, the name Ourania gained popularity in Italy and other parts of Europe, reflecting a renewed interest in classical Greek culture. One of the most famous individuals with the name was Ourania Camilla Guerrini, an Italian poet and playwright who lived in the 16th century and was celebrated for her literary works.
In the 19th century, Ourania was used by several notable figures in the arts and sciences. Ourania Michaelides was a Greek painter and sculptor active in the late 19th century, known for her portraits and mythological scenes. Ourania Rallis was a Greek astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and orbits.
Another notable individual with the name Ourania was Ourania Kazantzakis, a Greek writer and the wife of the famous novelist Nikos Kazantzakis. She was born in 1900 and played an important role in preserving and promoting her husband's literary legacy after his death.
Throughout history, the name Ourania has been associated with celestial themes, astronomy, and the pursuit of knowledge, reflecting its ancient Greek origins and connections to the heavens.
People
Ourania + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ourania 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
Ourania: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ourania?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ourania 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 3,327,712 US residents.
Is Ourania a common name?
We classify Ourania as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ourania most popular?
The single biggest year for Ourania was 1976, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ourania is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ourania a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ourania 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.