Uganda
An African topographic name meaning "region of plateaus".
Name Census estimates that about 53 living Americans carry the first name Uganda. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Uganda today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Uganda births was 1977 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Uganda. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Uganda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
53
~ 1 in 6,467,063 Americans
Peak year
1977
15 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1977 SSA rank
#5,099
Tracked since 1972
Gender
Gender distribution for Uganda
Uganda is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 58 total registrations, 12 (20.7%) were male and 46 (79.3%) were female.
Uganda as a male name
- Ranked #5,099 in 1977
- 7 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1977 (7 births)
Uganda as a female name
- Ranked #11,902 in 1979
- 5 female births in 1979
- Peak: 1973 (12 births)
Popularity
Uganda: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Uganda 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 Uganda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12 | 46 | 58 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Uganda
The given name Uganda originates from the Bantu languages spoken in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, particularly the areas that make up present-day Uganda. The name is believed to have its roots in the word "buganda," which refers to the central region of Uganda and the kingdom of the same name that existed there from the 14th to the 19th century.
The earliest known use of the name Uganda can be traced back to the 16th century, when it appeared in historical records and oral traditions of the Baganda people, who were the dominant ethnic group in the region. It was a name given to both males and females, signifying their connection to the land and the cultural heritage of the kingdom of Buganda.
In the 19th century, the name gained wider recognition beyond the Baganda people as European explorers and missionaries began documenting their encounters with the people and cultures of East Africa. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Western literature is found in the journals of John Hanning Speke, the British explorer who visited the region in 1862 and is credited with being the first European to discover the source of the Nile River.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Uganda. One of the earliest was Uganda Mukasa, a prominent chief and spiritual leader of the Baganda people in the late 19th century. Another notable figure was Uganda Ndibalekera, a Ugandan politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from British colonial rule in the mid-20th century.
In more recent times, the name Uganda has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions. For example, Uganda Aryee was a Ghanaian diplomat and academic who served as the first female Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization from 2004 to 2012. Uganda Dennis Martinez, born in 1954, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for several teams, including the Baltimore Orioles and the Montreal Expos.
It is worth noting that while the name Uganda has its origins in East Africa, it has been adopted and used by individuals from various parts of the world, transcending cultural and geographical boundaries. This reflects the rich diversity and cross-cultural exchange that has shaped the history and evolution of human names.
People
Uganda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Uganda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Uganda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Uganda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 53 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Uganda 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 6,467,063 US residents.
Is Uganda a common name?
We classify Uganda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Uganda most popular?
The single biggest year for Uganda was 1977, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Uganda is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Uganda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Uganda a female name?
Yes, 79.3% of people registered as Uganda 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 Uganda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Uganda 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 Uganda 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Uganda as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.