Odette
Feminine · Germanic roots · “wealth”
Odette is the French diminutive of the old Germanic Oda, a name built from a word for wealth and good fortune, and it has been on American records since the late nineteenth century without ever crowding a classroom. Tchaikovsky gave it a second life in 1877, when the swan-maiden of Swan Lake was named Odette, and the name has carried that stage light ever since. Two syllables, the stress landing softly on the second: oh-DET.
How old is the name Odette?
Odette first appears in US birth records in 1894 — 131 years ago. The typical Odette alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 3,300 people named Odette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Odette most popular?
Odette peaked in 1905, reaching #825 nationally. Today it ranks #881, 56 places below that high. See the whole 1905 chart.
Odette appears on these lists:
Works in French families too:
Where it comes from
From Aud- (Germanic element) to Odette
The story of Odette
The root is Germanic: aud-, meaning wealth or fortune, which produced the early medieval woman's name Oda alongside masculine Odo and Otto. In France, Oda picked up the diminutive ending -ette, the same suffix that made Colette and Juliette, and Odette became a name of its own. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, first staged in 1877, gave the name to its white swan and carried it well beyond French borders. It reached American records in the late nineteenth century, rose modestly in the early twentieth, and has been climbing again in recent years.
Meaning
wealth, fortune
From the Germanic element aud- "wealth, riches", the same root behind Oda, Odile and the masculine Otto. Odette is the French affectionate form.
How the name formed
- Aud-Germanic element
- Oda
- Odile
- Odette
Related forms: Odette · Odetta · Odete · Oda · Odile · Odilia
Pronouncing Odette
oh-DET
Stress on the second syllable. The French original keeps the first syllable very light, close to o-DET; the fuller American oh-DET is standard and understood everywhere.
Nicknames for Odette
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1894
- Most girls named
- 2025303 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #825reached in 1905
- Change vs 2022
- +68.3%303 in 2025, from 180
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Odette in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Odette in French — same name
- Odetta in Italian — same name
- Odete in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Oda in German — related form
- Odile in French — related form
- Odilia in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Odettes among us
people named Odette are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 5,305 born in 2025 was named Odette
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Odette is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Odette is headed
Odette looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Odette beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Odette in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way it sounds for English speakers, and short enough that no one has to ask for it twice.
- Recognizable across French, Italian, Portuguese and German-speaking countries through Odette, Odetta, Odete and Oda.
- A documented line running from early medieval Oda through French Odette, with a settled meaning parents can actually state.
- Yields Etta as a short form, itself a name with its own long history.
- Familiar in sound from Colette, Juliette and Yvette without sharing their exact spelling.
- The Swan Lake connection is strong and permanent. Many people who hear the name will think of the white swan first, and ballet jokes are likely to arrive more than once.
- It is close in sound to Odessa, Annette and Yvette, so expect occasional mishearings over the phone, and the odd Odetta in writing.
- The -ette ending belongs to a French fashion still strongly represented among older generations, which is part of the vintage appeal and also means the name may read as inherited rather than new.
- Rarity cuts both ways: no confusion with a classmate, but also no one who already knows how to spell it.
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Odette
Feminine · Germanic roots · #881 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Odettes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,300 people named Odette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Odette in 2025?
- Odette ranks #881 among US girl names in 2025, with 303 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Odette?
- About 1 in every 5,305 US girls born in 2025 was named Odette — 303 in all.
- Will my child share the name Odette with classmates?
- Odette will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Odette
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emi#881 · Colbie#881 · Tilly#884 · Tiffany#878 · Rebekah#884 · Giovanna#878 · Siya#878 · Vada#884
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Odette? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Odette and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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