Oprah Winfrey
There are approximately 1 people named Oprah Winfrey living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Oprah with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Winfrey. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Oprah
95
Alive today
Named Winfrey
7.4K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 95
Rarity: Very Rare
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1987
Average age: 35
Top Census group: Black or African American (82.0%)
Estimated bearers: 7.4K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #5,244
Per 100K: 2.15
Top ancestry: White (49.7%)
First name trend
Oprah: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Oprah. The peak year was 1987 with 37 births. The average person named Oprah today is 35 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oprah
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Oprah, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 82.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Oprah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Oprah at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American82.0% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 8
- White3.4% · 7
- Two or more races1.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Winfrey surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Winfrey, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 49.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Winfrey described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Winfrey at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White49.7% · 3,191
- Black or African American39.9% · 2,563
- Two or more races5.6% · 359
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 233
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 38
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Oprah has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0000% of the US population, based on 95 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Oprah right now.
The surname Winfrey appears at a rate of 2.15 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0021%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Oprah Winfrey. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Oprah Winfrey: questions and answers
How many people are named Oprah Winfrey?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Oprah Winfrey. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0000%) with the surname frequency (2.15 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Oprah Winfrey?
We classify Oprah Winfrey as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Oprah a male or female name?
Oprah is predominantly female. Out of 99 total SSA registrations, 0.0% were male and 100.0% were female. See the full Oprah profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Oprah Winfrey?
Find out how many people are called Oprah Winfrey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.