Head to head · Boys' names
Dennis vs Ozias
#707 vs #707 in 2025
Dennis and Ozias share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#707). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Dennis leads 3 measures of 6; Ozias leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Dennis #125, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1890s: Dennis #164, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1900s: Dennis #189, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1910s: Dennis #202, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1920s: Dennis #178, Ozias #4008 — Dennis higher
- 1930s: Dennis #90, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1940s: Dennis #19, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1950s: Dennis #23, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1960s: Dennis #40, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1970s: Dennis #60, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1980s: Dennis #99, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 1990s: Dennis #183, Ozias — — Dennis higher
- 2000s: Dennis #308, Ozias #6385 — Dennis higher
- 2010s: Dennis #483, Ozias #2813 — Dennis higher
- 2020s: Dennis #675, Ozias #1059 — Dennis higher
Dennis stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Dennis | Ozias |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #125 | — |
| 1890s | #164 | — |
| 1900s | #189 | — |
| 1910s | #202 | — |
| 1920s | #178 | #4008 |
| 1930s | #90 | — |
| 1940s | #19 | — |
| 1950s | #23 | — |
| 1960s | #40 | — |
| 1970s | #60 | — |
| 1980s | #99 | — |
| 1990s | #183 | — |
| 2000s | #308 | #6385 |
| 2010s | #483 | #2813 |
| 2020s | #675 | #1059 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Dennis
of Dionysus
The Greek Dionysios means belonging to Dionysus, and it was an ordinary Greek personal name before any Christian carried it. The god is not incidental to the name; he is its whole content.
Dionysios → Denis → Dennis
How it traveled
Early Christians took Greek names as they found them, and a great many of them were theophoric — built on a god. Dionysios, Apollonios, Hermas, Demetrios and Olympias all came into the church attached to Olympian gods and stayed.
Ozias
Yahweh is my strength
From Hebrew ʿoz, 'strength', joined to a short form of the divine name.
Uzziyyahu → Uzziah → Ozias → Ozías
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Uzziyyahu, borne by a king of Judah in the eighth century BC. When Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the scriptures into Greek, they rendered it Ozias, and that Greek spelling passed into the Latin Vulgate, into the Book of Judith, and into the King James New Testament, where Ozias stands in the line of descent from Abraham.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Dennis
DEN-iss
Two syllables with the weight at the front. French says duh-NEE with the final consonant silent, and Russian keeps the s.
- Den — Cut to one syllable; the standard everyday form in Britain.
- Denny — The affectionate form; a standing name of its own in America.
Ozias
oh-ZY-uhs
The traditional English reading, following the King James Bible, is oh-ZY-uhs. Many families say oh-ZEE-uhs instead, and Spanish-speaking households usually say o-SEE-as, written Ozías. All three are in genuine use, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Oz — The obvious one-syllable shortening; informal, and used as a standalone nickname for several O-names.
- Ozzie — Informal; also reaches boys independently through Oswald, Osborne and Oscar, so it is not exclusive to this name.
- Ozzy — Same short form with the spelling made familiar by the musician Ozzy Osbourne.
- Zi — Informal family shortening taken from the middle of the name rather than the front.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Dennis if you want…
- a name holding steadyDennis is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesDennis is 2 syllables to Ozias's 3
- a long American recordDennis was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 59% for Ozias
Choose Ozias if you want…
- a name on the way upup 893 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itOzias runs 3 syllables, Dennis 2
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Oz, Ozzie and Ozzy
- a newer arrivalOzias entered the US charts in 1920
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Dennis
Strengths
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing.
- It has a form in French, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Polish.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the twentieth century.
- One long-running comic strip has attached a particular boy to the name.
- Denis with one n is standard in France and will be written for you.
Ozias
Strengths
- Documented in continuous written use for well over two thousand years, from the Hebrew scriptures through Greek and Latin into English Bibles.
- Shortens cleanly to Oz or Ozzie, both already established as everyday nicknames.
- Written almost identically in English, Spanish and Portuguese, so it crosses between those households without respelling.
To consider
- Three pronunciations circulate — oh-ZY-uhs, oh-ZEE-uhs, and the Spanish o-SEE-as — so introductions will often include a correction. Choosing one and using it consistently saves a lot of small repairs.
- It will be misheard and rewritten as Osias, Ozzias, Josias or Hosea by people meeting it for the first time, especially over the phone.
- The short form Oz comes attached to the Wizard of Oz and to Ozzy Osbourne. Neither is a problem, but they will be the first things some people mention.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Dennis
12%chance Dennis feels dated by 2040
Dennis has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Ozias
59%chance Ozias feels dated by 2040
Ozias is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Dennis and Ozias in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Dennis and Ozias?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- all guides
Where Dennis and Ozias each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Dennis or Ozias — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Dennis or Ozias?
- They tie in 2025: Dennis ranked #707 with 381 babies; Ozias ranked #707 with 381 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Dennis or Ozias?
- Ozias. Over the last five years Dennis moved down 60 places; Ozias moved up 893 places.
- Which is the older name, Dennis or Ozias?
- Dennis was already in use when US records began in 1880; Ozias entered the US charts in 1920. On the American record, Dennis is the older name.
- How many people are named Dennis and Ozias?
- About 422,000 people named Dennis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 2,000 people named Ozias are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Denniss or Oziass in the classroom?
- Dennis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ozias will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Dennis, Ozias and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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