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Onesimo

♂ Boy

Pronounced oh-NEH-see-moh /oˈnɛ.si.mo/Low

Meaning: Onesimo is the Spanish form of Onesimus, from the Greek onesimos, 'useful' or 'profitable.' In the New Testament Onesimus was an enslaved man whom the apostle Paul appeals for in his Epistle to Philemon, urging that he be received as a beloved brother. The name honors that scriptural story.Low

In 30 seconds: Onesimo is the Spanish form of Onesimus, Greek for useful or profitable, borne by a man in Paul's Epistle to Philemon. It stayed rare (said oh-NEH-see-moh).

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Origin LowSpanish, Greek

MeaningOnesimo is the Spanish form of Onesimus, from the Greek onesimos, 'useful' or 'profitable.' In the New Testament Onesimus was an enslaved man whom the apostle Paul appeals for in his Epistle to Philemon, urging that he be received as a beloved brother. The name honors that scriptural story.

U.S. rank (2023)#10503 ↗ Rising

2023 U.S. births7 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1982

Total births (all-time)≈ 594

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Onesimo is the Spanish form of Onesimus, from the Greek onesimos, 'useful' or 'profitable.' The name is remembered through the New Testament, where Paul writes to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, asking that he be welcomed as a beloved brother. Carried mainly by Spanish-speaking Catholic families, it appears only rarely in the United States.

American records show it thinly across the twentieth century, given to about twenty boys a year at its modest high around 1982. A boy named Onesimo then is in his forties today.

Did you know? Onesimo carries a tender New Testament story: in Paul's Epistle to Philemon, Onesimus is commended as one who had become 'useful,' living up to the very meaning of his name.

Overall data confidence 46%

References - Onesimo — Spanish form of Onesimus (Greek onesimos 'useful'); Paul's Epistle to Philemon

Variations

OnesimusOnesimosOnesiforo

Nicknames

OnesiNesiSimo

Famous Bearers

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Onesimo mean?

It is the Spanish form of Onesimus, from the Greek for 'useful' or 'profitable,' borne by a man in Paul's Epistle to Philemon.

How do you pronounce Onesimo?

It is said oh-NEH-see-moh /oˈnɛ.si.mo/, four syllables with the stress on the second.

Is Onesimo a boy or girl name?

Onesimo is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Onesimo?

It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about twenty boys a year at its modest high in the early nineteen-eighties.