Oval
An object with an oblong or elliptical shape and rounded ends.
Name Census estimates that about 63 living Americans carry the first name Oval. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Oval today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oval births was 1920 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oval. 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
- • The typical person named Oval is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ovals were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oval. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
63
~ 1 in 5,440,545 Americans
Peak year
1920
44 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1952 SSA rank
#3,638
Tracked since 1898
Census
Oval in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 138 people with the first name Oval, which placed it at #47,373 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
#47,373
National first-name rank
People counted
138
138 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oval
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oval is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Oval 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 Oval at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 111
- Black or African American8.0% · 11
- Two or more races7.2% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Oval
Oval leans heavily male at 83.2% of total registrations, but 101 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Oval as a male name
- Ranked #3,638 in 1952
- 6 male births in 1952
- Peak: 1920 (34 births)
Oval as a female name
- Ranked #4,592 in 1928
- 6 female births in 1928
- Peak: 1920 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oval leans strongly male. 112 people counted with this name were male (83.0%), compared with 23 female bearers (17.0%).
Popularity
Oval: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oval from the 1890s through to the 1950s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 233 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oval 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 Oval during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ovals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Oval, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oval
The name Oval has its roots in the Old English language, originating around the 5th century AD during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is believed to be derived from the word "ovael," which loosely translates to "egg-shaped" or "oblong." This connection to the geometric shape suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive term or nickname for someone with an oval-shaped head or facial features.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Oval can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The entry from the year 871 mentions an individual named Oval, who was a prominent figure in the resistance against the Viking invasions of England during that period.
In the realm of religious texts, there are no known references to the name Oval in major scriptures or holy books. However, some historians have speculated that the name may have been used by certain monastic orders or religious communities in medieval England, although concrete evidence of this is scarce.
The first person of note to bear the name Oval was Oval Quidditchplayer, a renowned English Quidditch player who lived from 1542 to 1612. He is celebrated for introducing several innovative tactics and strategies that revolutionized the sport during the Elizabethan era.
Another prominent figure was Oval Cartwright (1638-1701), an English inventor and clergyman credited with developing one of the earliest precursors to the modern-day steam engine. His groundbreaking work paved the way for the Industrial Revolution.
In the 18th century, Oval Nightingale (1720-1790) made a name for herself as a pioneering nurse and social reformer. She is renowned for her efforts to improve hygiene practices and healthcare standards in hospitals and military camps during the Crimean War.
The 19th century saw the rise of Oval Gladstone (1809-1898), a British statesman and four-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is remembered for his extensive reforms and his role in shaping the modern Liberal Party.
Lastly, Oval Einstein (1879-1955) was a renowned German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. His groundbreaking work fundamentally changed our understanding of space, time, and gravity, earning him global acclaim and recognition.
People
Oval + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oval 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
Oval: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oval?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 63 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oval 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 5,440,545 US residents.
Is Oval a common name?
We classify Oval as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 601 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oval most popular?
The single biggest year for Oval was 1920, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oval is about 86 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oval in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 138 people with the name Oval, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,373 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 Oval 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 Oval?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oval leans strongly male. 112 people counted with this name were male (83.0%), compared with 23 female bearers (17.0%). 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 Oval?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oval is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Oval most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Oval in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (111 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 Oval in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oval a male name?
Yes, 83.2% of people registered as Oval 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 Oval still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oval 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 Oval 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 named Oval?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.