Toluwani
A feminine Yoruba name meaning "wealth belongs to God."
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Toluwani. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Toluwani today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toluwani births was 2018 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toluwani. 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 Toluwani with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
2018
17 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,167
Tracked since 2004
Census
Toluwani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Toluwani, which placed it at #32,383 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
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toluwani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toluwani is Black at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Toluwani 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 Toluwani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.4% · 248
- White2.7% · 7
- Two or more races1.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Toluwani
Toluwani is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 150 total registrations, 79 (52.7%) were male and 71 (47.3%) were female.
Toluwani as a male name
- Ranked #12,167 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (9 births)
Toluwani as a female name
- Ranked #12,354 in 2019
- 8 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2018 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toluwani on both sides of the split. Of the 261 people counted with this name, 130 were male (49.8%) and 131 were female (50.2%).
Popularity
Toluwani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toluwani from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Toluwani 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 Toluwani 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 Toluwani
The name Toluwani originates from the Yoruba language spoken in Nigeria, West Africa. It is a compound word formed by combining the words "Tolu" meaning "wealth" or "affluence" and "Wani" which means "to have" or "to possess." Together, the name Toluwani translates to "wealthy" or "prosperous one."
This name has been in use among the Yoruba people for centuries, dating back to the height of the Oyo Empire, which flourished between the 16th and 19th centuries. The name is believed to have been bestowed upon children as a sign of hope and aspiration for a prosperous and abundant life.
While no specific historical references to the name Toluwani have been found in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is deeply rooted in the cultural traditions and naming practices of the Yoruba people. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late 18th century, as documented in various colonial records and missionary accounts.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Toluwani. One of the earliest recorded was Toluwani Akinyele (1790-1865), a prominent Yoruba trader and diplomat who played a significant role in facilitating trade relations between the Oyo Empire and European merchants.
Another notable figure was Toluwani Ogunlesi (1853-1932), a prominent Yoruba historian and writer who documented the oral traditions and histories of the Yoruba people. His works remain invaluable resources for understanding the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba.
In the 20th century, Toluwani Adeola (1920-2008) was a renowned Nigerian artist and sculptor, known for his intricate wood carvings and sculptures depicting scenes from Yoruba mythology and daily life. His works are celebrated for their cultural significance and artistic excellence.
Toluwani Obikoya (1935-2003) was a Nigerian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1993. She was instrumental in shaping Nigeria's foreign policy during a crucial period in the country's history.
More recently, Toluwani Akinyemi (born 1983) is a Nigerian-American filmmaker and writer, known for her critically acclaimed films that explore themes of identity, diaspora, and the African experience. Her work has been recognized at various international film festivals.
People
Toluwani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toluwani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Toluwani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toluwani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toluwani 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Toluwani a common name?
We classify Toluwani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 150 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toluwani most popular?
The single biggest year for Toluwani was 2018, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toluwani is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toluwani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Toluwani, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 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 Toluwani 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 Toluwani?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Toluwani on both sides of the split. Of the 261 people counted with this name, 130 were male (49.8%) and 131 were female (50.2%). 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 Toluwani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toluwani is Black at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Toluwani most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Toluwani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (248 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 Toluwani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toluwani a male name?
Yes, 52.7% of people registered as Toluwani 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 Toluwani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toluwani 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 Toluwani 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 have the name Toluwani?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Toluwani at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.