Find out how popular the last name Okonkwo is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Okonkwo.

Okonkwo, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Okonkwo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Okonkwo in America

Okonkwo is the 23500th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Okonkwo surname appeared 1,081 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Okonkwo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Okonkwo to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Okonkwo

The surname Okonkwo originates from the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. The name likely emerged sometime in the late medieval period, around the 15th or 16th century, when surnames became more widespread in that region.

The name Okonkwo is thought to derive from the Igbo words "oko" meaning "farm" or "farmer" and "nkwo" meaning "born on nkwo day" or "born on the market day." Thus, the name may have initially referred to someone born on the day of the local market or someone involved in agriculture.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Okonkwo name appears in the 1958 novel "Things Fall Apart" by the renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is a respected leader in his Igbo village. This literary work brought significant attention to the Okonkwo name and Igbo culture.

In the 18th century, an Okonkwo was mentioned in the journals of a British explorer, though details are scarce. Records from the early 20th century indicate an Okonkwo family residing in the town of Ogidi, located in present-day Anambra State.

Notable individuals with the surname Okonkwo include Buchi Okonkwo, a Nigerian poet and academic born in 1935. Another is Kanayo Okonkwo, a Nigerian actor born in 1974, known for his roles in various Nollywood films.

Chike Okonkwo, a Nigerian-American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Philanthropic Trust in the early 2000s. Uche Okonkwo, born in 1987, is a Nigerian-American fashion designer who launched her eponymous label in 2012.

Nkem Okonkwo, born in 1949, is a Nigerian author and academic who has written extensively on African literature and culture. Her works shed light on the historical and cultural significance of the Okonkwo name and its Igbo origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Okonkwo

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Okonkwo.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Okonkwo was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Okonkwo has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Okonkwo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Okonkwo, please contact us.

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