Othello
Masculine
Othello is given to both — 687 boys and 116 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Ira Aldridge, born in New York in 1807, played Othello in London in 1825 and spent forty years touring Europe in the role, receiving state honors in Prussia and Russia. He was the first Black actor to play the part, and for most of the nineteenth century he was the most famous American actor abroad.
How old is the name Othello?
Othello first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Othello alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 400 people named Othello are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Othello most popular?
Othello peaked in 1914, reaching #1772 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 7,138 places below that high. See the whole 1914 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Othello
Aldridge's career is one of the strangest in the history of the American stage, largely because it happened almost entirely off it. Barred from the major American theaters, he left for England in his teens, played Othello at the Royal Coburg in 1825, and built a European reputation over four decades, performing in Britain, Ireland, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Poland. He was awarded the Prussian Gold Medal for Art and Science and made a member of the Imperial and Archducal Institution in Austria. He also played Lear, Macbeth and Shylock in white makeup. He died in Lodz in 1867 and is buried there. The American given name's peak in 1914 comes a generation later, in a period when Aldridge was being written about again in the American Black press, and when the play was one of the few classical roles available at all.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Othello has no established etymology. It appears first in Shakespeare's play of about 1604, whose source, a novella by Cinthio, does not name the character at all. The form resembles an Italian diminutive of Otho, itself a Germanic name from od, wealth, but the derivation is a guess. Shakespeare may have coined it. The American peak of the given name is 1914.
Pronouncing Othello
oh-THEL-oh
Three syllables, stress on the second. Italian Otello has no h and is said oh-TEL-oh. Verdi's opera uses the Italian form.
Nicknames for Othello
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 192316 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1772reached in 1914
- Change vs 2023
- −46.7%8 in 2025, from 15
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.
Othello in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Otello in Italian — spelling variant
- Otho in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Othellos among us
people named Othello are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Othello
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
Othello sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Othello beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Othello in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three syllables with a clear, even rhythm.
- It is tied to one of the most performed plays in the language.
- The vowels are open and the name is easy to say.
- The character's story is a tragedy and the association is unavoidable.
- The name has no known meaning.
- It is also the name of a well-known board game.
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What they receive
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Othello
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Othellos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Othello are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Othello in 2025?
- Othello ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Othello?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Othello — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Othello with classmates?
- Othello will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Othello
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Othello? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Othello and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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