Total births
99
Girls' name · since 1986
Oprah
99 babies named Oprah in U.S. Social Security records since 1986, with the highest year being 1987. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- 99
- total births
- 1986–2007
- years on record
- 1980s
- peak decade
- 74%
- born in that decade
99 girls have been named Oprah since 1986, though it isn't currently a top-ranked name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Oprah has been recorded 99 times among girls since 1986, though it is not among the currently most-used girls names, with its heaviest use in the 1980s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1986 to 2007.
- 99 total births
- 1986–2007 years on record
- 1980s peak decade
- 74% born in that decade
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
99 girls have been named Oprah since 1986, peaking in the 1980s, last recorded in 2007.
- 99
- total births
- 1986–2007
- years on record
- 1980s
- peak decade
- 74%
- born in that decade
1980s
Peak decade
74% of everyone ever named Oprah was born in this single decade.
1987
Single peak year
37 babies were named Oprah in 1987 - its busiest year on record.
Oprah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Oprah's full recorded timeline at 1989, 33% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 67% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1989, with just 7 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1987 peak of 37 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Oprah at a glance
Last recorded 2007Peak year
1987
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1986
Oprah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1986–2007
- Peak year (1987)
- 37
- Annual births at peak, across 22 years of records
Oprah by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1980s was Oprah's strongest decade.
73 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 74% of all-time use.
Oprah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s
1980s
73 births
- 1990s 8
1990s
8 births
- 2000s 18
2000s
18 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 73 births (74% of all-time use).
Oprah by state
Where Oprah concentrates geographically, total births since 1986
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Oprah? ▼
Oprah has been given to 99 babies in the U.S. since 1986, according to SSA data. Its last appearance in the data was 2007. 37 babies were born in 1987, its single highest year.
When was Oprah most popular? ▼
Oprah was most popular in the 1980s decade with 73 total births. The single peak year was 1987.
Where is Oprah most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Oprah are Louisiana (6 births), Florida (5 births).
How long has the name Oprah been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Oprah since 1986 -- 22 years through the most recent 2007 data.
What to do with Oprah's data
- Oprah's decade-level peak was the 1980s (73 total births); usage has since declined to 18 in the 2000s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Louisiana records the most Oprahs (6 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Louisiana names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Oprah
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1986–2007 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Oprah: Baby Name Since 1986 - 99 Births, Peak 1987." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/oprah. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Oprah draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.