Explore the Family Name Okonkwo

The meaning of Okonkwo

West African (Nigeria): from the Igbo personal name Okonkwo meaning ‘man born on Nkwo day’. Nkwo is the name of one of the four (market) days of the Igbo four-day week.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Okonkwo in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Okonkwo has seen a significant increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Okonkwo was ranked at 37,591 in terms of popularity but rose to 23,500 by 2010 – showing a growth rate of 37.49%. The number of individuals with this surname nearly doubled within this decade, moving from 557 in 2000 to 1,081 in 2010, marking a substantial 94.08% increase. The proportion per 100,000 also saw a notable surge, growing by 76.19%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#37,591	#23,500	37.49%
Count	557	1,081	94.08%
Proportion per 100k	0.21	0.37	76.19%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Okonkwo

Regarding the ethnic identity of individuals with the surname Okonkwo, the Decennial U.S. Census provides some insightful data. There were no recorded instances of Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native amongst those bearing the surname in either 2000 or 2010. The majority identified as Black, with an increase of 5.73% over the decade, rising from 89.77% in 2000 to 94.91% in 2010. Those identifying as two or more races decreased from 5.75% to 2.59%, and the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic also fell significantly by 72.49% from 2.69% to 0.74%. Meanwhile, there was a slight increase in the proportion identifying as White, up by 15.97% from 1.44% to 1.67%.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	89.77%	94.91%	5.73%
Two or More Races	5.75%	2.59%	-54.96%
White	1.44%	1.67%	15.97%
Hispanic	2.69%	0.74%	-72.49%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%