Fun Facts About the Name Okie
- 305 babies named Okie: U.S. records list 305 babies given the name Okie from 1880 through 2025. Even 124 boys received the name Okie.
What Does the Name Okie Mean?
Okie is an American name meaning "person from Oklahoma." It is built from the first element of the state name Oklahoma plus the familiar -ie ending, which turns a shortened form into a nickname, much as it does in countless other informal personal names. Oklahoma comes from Choctaw: okla, "people," and humma, "red," so the state name is usually translated literally as "red people." That Choctaw phrase is the source of the state name, and the state name is the source of Okie. The name is not a translation of a personal name from an older language; its meaning sits in the place it points to.
Okie Name History & Origins
Oklahoma became a state in 1907, and in the early twentieth century "Okie" was used simply to mean a resident of the state. The word took on a harsher sense during the 1930s, when drought and the Dust Bowl pushed farm families out of Oklahoma and neighboring states toward California's Central Valley. There "Okie" became a dismissive label for those migrants. John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) fixed that meaning of the word in the public imagination, though it drew on a usage already current.
Later, Oklahomans reclaimed the term as a self-description, and Merle Haggard's 1969 song "Okie from Muskogee" is a well-known example of it being used that way. As a given name, Okie appears occasionally in the United States, generally reflecting family ties to Oklahoma or the regional nickname rather than any older naming tradition. It remains uncommon.
How Popular is the Name Okie?
Okie has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1920. Its best rank was #1,406 in 1892.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | #3,091 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1933 | #4,698 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #4,923 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #4,809 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1930 | #3,576 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #5,098 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1928 | #3,671 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #3,497 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #4,326 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #4,269 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #2,917 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1921 | #3,595 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1920 | #2,555 | 14 | 0.0012% |
| 1919 | #4,662 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #5,386 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1917 | #5,122 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #2,978 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1915 | #3,700 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1914 | #3,503 | 6 | 0.0008% |
| 1913 | #2,742 | 7 | 0.0011% |
| 1912 | #2,095 | 9 | 0.0016% |
| 1911 | #1,914 | 8 | 0.0019% |
| 1910 | #1,731 | 9 | 0.0023% |
| 1892 | #1,406 | 6 | 0.0028% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | #4,384 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #4,042 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1943 | #3,909 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #3,130 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1940 | #3,367 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1939 | #3,835 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1937 | #3,417 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #2,928 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1932 | #2,587 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1931 | #3,653 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1930 | #3,891 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1928 | #3,007 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1922 | #4,186 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #3,141 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #3,651 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1918 | #3,610 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1915 | #4,227 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1914 | #2,835 | 7 | 0.0011% |
| 1913 | #3,131 | 5 | 0.0010% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Okie Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are patient, persevering and strong willed. You are a good student, absorbing knowledge easily and retaining it well. You are either a saint or a sinner. You tend to hold things inside and suffer in silence. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Okie's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Okie's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.