Othella
Feminine
Othella is one letter and one ending away from the title of a famous play, and it is also one letter away from a Germanic name that has nothing to do with it. The record holds no evidence either way. The play's title role has a history in America worth knowing.
How old is the name Othella?
Othella first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Othella alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 200 people named Othella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Othella most popular?
Othella peaked in 1889, reaching #1025 nationally. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Othella
Ira Aldridge was born in New York, trained at an African American theater in Manhattan that was repeatedly shut down by mobs and police, and concluded before he was twenty that he could not have a career in his own country. He left for England, worked his way up through provincial theaters, and spent forty years touring Britain and the continent, playing the title role that made his name and, increasingly, playing white roles in whiteface — Lear, Macbeth, Shylock. In Europe he was a star of the first rank: decorated by the King of Prussia, given a Russian honor, awarded a Maltese knighthood, met by crowds at railway stations. He was buried in Poland, where he died while touring. He had begun arranging an American tour shortly before; he never made it back.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Two unrelated readings are available. The play's title character has a name of uncertain origin himself — probably an Italian diminutive built on a Germanic root — and the other candidate is a family of old Germanic names built on a word for inherited property. Neither can be shown for this spelling.
Pronouncing Othella
oh-THELL-uh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The th is the voiceless one of thin rather than the voiced one of this, which is what keeps it from sliding into a different name.
Nicknames for Othella
Moderate
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
- 1889
- Most girls named
- 192134 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1025reached in 1889
- Change vs 1966
- 0.0%5 in 1973, from 5
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.
Othellas among us
people named Othella are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Othella sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Middle stress on three syllables is the most comfortable rhythm English has.
- Ella detaches cleanly and is a complete name in its own right.
- It is genuinely rare and belongs to almost nobody now living.
- Otella, Othelia and Odella are all recorded and will be written for it.
- The play arrives as an association whether or not the family intended it, and the play ends badly.
- No origin is documented, so the two readings have to be offered as guesses.
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Othella
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Othellas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Othella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Othella in 2025?
- Othella is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Othella with classmates?
- Othella will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Olivia#1 · Opal#423 · Olive#197 · Olga#3167 · Ollie#2276 · Ora#3712 · Ola#7885 · Ophelia#264
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Othella? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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