How rare is the name Obed?

5,102 people in the United States have the first name Obed, about 1 in 59,199. It ranks #3,857 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 2 others.

first name

OBED

#3,857

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
5,102
About
1 in 59,199
This common or more
83.2%
Who bears it

Of the 5,102 people named Obed, 80.2% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% as Black and 4.6% as White. 99.2% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Obed peaked in 2005, when 137 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2005
Births that year
137
In 2025*
72 ▼47%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 4,135 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Obed by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #2,957. The largest share of babies named Obed, 38.3%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#2,9576
1890s#3,9395
1900s#4,16711
1910s#4,31593
1920s#4,428136
1930s#5,41277
1940s#6,10968
1950s#6,99471
1960s#5,984115
1970s#5,641184
1980s#4,572326
1990s#3,793599
2000s#3,1581,083
2010s#3,851889
2020s#4,171472
Before 19010.3%
Greatest Generation 1901–275.4%
Silent Generation 1928–453.1%
Baby boom 1946–644%
Generation X 1965–806.5%
Millennials 1981–9617%
Generation Z 1997–1238.3%
2013 and later25.5%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Obed is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Obed has been most common in Texas (4.9×), Arizona (4.3×), and California (3.3×), and least common in Georgia (0.74×).

1,963 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Obed

2 other first names also have 5,102 people.

#3,857 Breann · 5,102#3,857 Qi · 5,102

Either side of Obed

#3,856 Keanu · 5,104#3,857 Breann · 5,102#3,857 Qi · 5,102#3,860 Gabino · 5,099

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Obed, most common first.

#35,884 Obet · 223

Also a last name

As a last name, Obed ranks #69,365 of 156,621, with 305 people. See Obed as a last name

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