Fun Facts About the Name Okla
- 254 babies named Okla: U.S. records list 254 babies given the name Okla from 1880 through 2025. Even 16 boys received the name Okla - about 1 boy for every 15 girls.
What Does the Name Okla Mean?
Okla is the Choctaw word for "people" or "nation," and the given name is a direct borrowing of that noun. Choctaw is a Muskogean language historically spoken in what is now Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana and still spoken in Oklahoma. Choctaw-English dictionaries compiled in the nineteenth century gloss okla as "people," "a people," or "nation," a sense the word keeps in modern Choctaw. Its best-known appearance in English is the state name Oklahoma, formed from okla plus humma "red" and usually translated "red people." Because the personal name is the Choctaw noun itself, the meaning is literal rather than a later symbolic reading; there is no separate traditional etymology for Okla as a personal name.
Okla Name History & Origins
The name reached English through Choctaw. In 1866, during treaty negotiations with the United States, the Choctaw leader Allen Wright is traditionally credited with proposing the name Oklahomma for the territory that would become Oklahoma, combining okla with humma "red." The word also appears in Choctaw-influenced English place names and in the title of R. A. Lafferty's 1972 novel Okla Hannali, whose central character is a Choctaw man. Okla. is the traditional abbreviation for the state of Oklahoma. As a personal name, Okla is uncommon and appears chiefly in the United States, where it is used as a borrowing of the Choctaw noun rather than as a form of a European or biblical name. Choctaw naming practice itself drew on a different stock of words, and in the nineteenth century many Choctaw people also adopted English and biblical names alongside Choctaw ones.
How Popular is the Name Okla?
Okla 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 1922. Its best rank was #1,266 in 1909.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | #5,074 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1928 | #3,104 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1927 | #4,675 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #3,478 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #3,939 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1924 | #3,913 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #4,831 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #2,258 | 17 | 0.0014% |
| 1921 | #4,942 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #2,441 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1919 | #2,955 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1918 | #2,350 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1917 | #2,824 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1916 | #2,102 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1915 | #2,848 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1914 | #2,387 | 10 | 0.0013% |
| 1912 | #2,566 | 7 | 0.0013% |
| 1911 | #2,133 | 7 | 0.0017% |
| 1910 | #2,336 | 6 | 0.0015% |
| 1909 | #1,266 | 12 | 0.0035% |
| 1908 | #1,513 | 9 | 0.0027% |
| 1907 | #1,767 | 7 | 0.0022% |
| 1906 | #1,519 | 8 | 0.0027% |
| 1904 | #1,346 | 9 | 0.0033% |
| 1900 | #2,145 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1895 | #1,754 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | #4,413 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,775 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1915 | #4,228 | 5 | 0.0006% |
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.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with O
Short Girl Names That Start with O
How the Name Okla 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.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Okla's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Okla's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.