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

Onwuka, 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 Onwuka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Onwuka in America

Onwuka is the 68345th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Onwuka surname appeared 288 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 Onwuka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Onwuka 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 Onwuka

The surname Onwuka originates from the Igbo ethnic group of southeastern Nigeria. It is a compound name formed from the combination of two Igbo words: "onwu" meaning "death" and "ka" meaning "greater than" or "more than." The name can be interpreted to mean "greater than death" or "conquering death."

The Igbo people have a long and rich cultural history, with linguistic roots dating back to the 9th century AD. Onwuka is a relatively common surname among the Igbo, particularly in the present-day states of Anambra, Enugu, Imo, and Abia.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Onwuka name can be found in the oral traditions and folklore of the Igbo people. These stories often feature characters with the name Onwuka, highlighting the cultural significance and antiquity of the surname.

In the 17th century, during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, many Igbo people were forcibly taken from their homeland and brought to the Americas. It is likely that some individuals bearing the Onwuka surname were among those enslaved, carrying the name to new regions and contributing to its global dispersal.

Notable individuals with the surname Onwuka include:

1. Nnamdi Onwuka (1942 - 2021), a Nigerian politician and former member of the Nigerian Senate.
2. Chike Onwuka (born 1971), a Nigerian-American businessman and author known for his work on diversity and inclusion.
3. Ngozi Onwuka (born 1979), a Nigerian actress and television host.
4. Obiora Onwuka (born 1968), a Nigerian-British artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited internationally.
5. Chizor Onwuka (born 1987), a Nigerian-American singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles.

While the surname Onwuka has deep roots in the Igbo culture of Nigeria, it has spread to various parts of the world through migration and the African diaspora. The name continues to carry the cultural and linguistic heritage of its Igbo origins, serving as a testament to the rich diversity of human surnames and their ability to transcend geographic boundaries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Onwuka

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

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 Onwuka 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 Onwuka 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 Onwuka was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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