Obama

Obama Meaning & Origin

About Obama
The surname Obama is of Luo origin and is derived from the Luo word "obam," which means "to lean or bend." It is a common surname among the Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania. The name is believed to have been given to individuals who were born with a bent or crooked arm or leg, or to those who were considered to have a unique physical feature. The surname gained global recognition when Barack Obama, whose father was of Luo descent, became the 44th President of the United States.

📏 Surname Length
💬 Number of Syllables
🔠 Starting Letter
Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe Logo

Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe

Explore your ancestry and health insights with exclusive savings.

Save 15%-60% this holiday season

Popularity

Surname Popularity by Ethnicity

The surname Obama is a unique entry in our records. Discover more about its distribution and characteristics:

  • Number of People with the name Obama: 159
  • Overall Popularity: Less than 0.01% (a rare surname)
  • Ranking: 110,825
  • Frequency per 100k people: 0.05

Below is the ethnic distribution of the surname Obama based on recent US Census records. This is a brief glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of people carrying this surname.

Ranking information for the surname Obama is not currently available.

Pronunciation

📇 Metaphone
APM
🗽 NYSIIS
OANA
🔊 Soundex
O1050
🎵 Syllabic Pronunciation
OW2 B AA1 M AH0
🌐 IPA
/ˌoʊˈbɑmə/
🔊 Double Metaphone
('APM', '')
🈯 Cross-Lingual Phonetic
O150

Accessibility & Communication

How to write the name Obama in Braille

Here's how to represent Obama in Braille, each pattern of raised dots corresponds to a letter in the name.

The name Obama in braille

How to sign the name Obama using Sign Language

The image below shows how you can spell Obama using American Sign Language (ASL). In sign language, each hand shape corresponds to a specific a letter of the name.

The name Obama in sign language

Numerology