Ocean
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Meaning
the English word for the sea; a Fresh Air review recounts that Ocean Vuong’s mother chose it after learning that an ocean could connect countries such as Vietnam and the United States
The story
Before school, Ocean Vuong's mother brought him to the family altar. Together they named relatives, trying to bless them and hold them in mind. In his account of that Buddhist household, care began with saying people's names. Ocean itself is an English word name, taken from the great body of water. Its older linguistic route leads to Greek Okeanos, the water imagined to circle the Earth. The scale is enormous; the poet's memory is domestic. Vuong also traces his literary beginnings to the stories his mother, aunt and grandmother told to make sense of their past. He learned from their voices before he entered a classroom. A writer's education can begin in such ordinary company, with people whose stories he has heard close at hand. His family had given him two early lessons in attention: naming relatives with care, and listening to stories about the past.
How popular is Ocean around the world?
In the United States, 4,375 babies were named Ocean between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 143 girls named Ocean were born in 2025, the 306th most common name among girls that year.
Ocean is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, New Zealand, Canada, South Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 5,000
In the United States, 4,375 babies were named Ocean between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ocean peaked in the 2020s. In 2025 Ocean went to 345 girls and 375 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 3,300
In England and Wales, 143 girls named Ocean were born in 2025, the 306th most common name among girls that year.
In England and Wales, 36 boys named Ocean were born in 2025, the 873rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 4,100
In New Zealand, 14 girls named Ocean were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 6,400
In Canada, 29 girls named Ocean were born in 2024, the 934th most common name among girls that year.
In Canada, 28 boys named Ocean were born in 2024, the 916th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Ocean in 2017.
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Ocean in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Ocean were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 boys named Ocean were born in 2025, the 676th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 114 people in Brazil were named Ocean, ranked 37,641st, with a median age of 42.
Among people named Ocean living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 1.9M
In Spain, 23 residents are named Ocean, ranked 27,491st among men, with a mean age of 8.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2018
Ocean is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2023
Ocean is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
last on record 2023
Ocean is not on the 2025 record for France, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Mexico City City
last on record 2016
Ocean is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Ocean is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 69 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the record in Poland: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Ocean
Most people given the name Ocean in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Ocean · Names of poets and writers · Gender-neutral names · Truly unisex names
The Ocean deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ocean truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ocean fits with your family’s names and surname.
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