Otila
Feminine · Germanic roots · “wealth”
Otila is a spelling of Otilia, the Spanish and Romanian form of an old Germanic name that German writes Ottilie and French Odile. It is three syllables, oh-TEE-luh, and it has the most memorable bearer of its family in German fiction.
How old is the name Otila?
Otila first appears in US birth records in 1894 — 131 years ago. The typical Otila alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 100 people named Otila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Otila most popular?
Otila peaked in 1894, reaching #1353 nationally. See the whole 1894 chart.
Where it comes from
From Odila (Germanic) to Otila
The story of Otila
The name began among the Germanic peoples of the early Middle Ages as Odila or Odilia, built on od, wealth, and spread across Europe as Ottilie in German, Odile in French and Otilia in Spanish and Romanian. German literature gave it its best-known bearer: in Goethe's novel Elective Affinities, Ottilie is the quiet young woman who comes to live with a married couple and becomes the center of the novel's crossed attractions, a character readers have argued over ever since. Otila, with one l and no second i, is the spelling of the name that appears in American records.
Meaning
wealth, through Otilia
Otila goes back through Otilia and Ottilie to a Germanic name built on od, 'wealth' or 'prosperity'. The one-l spelling adds nothing of its own.
How the name formed
- OdilaGermanic
- Odilia
- Otilia
- Otila
Related forms: Otilia · Otilia · Ottilie · Odile · Odilia
Pronouncing Otila
oh-TEE-luh
Three syllables, stress on the second, as in Spanish Otilia without its last vowel.
Nicknames for Otila
Limited
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
- 192421 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1353reached in 1894
- Change vs 1968
- +20.0%6 in 1974, 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.
Otila in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Otilia in Spanish — related form
- Otilia in Romanian — related form
- Ottilie in German — related form
- Odile in French — related form
- Odilia in Latin — related form
Otilas among us
people named Otila 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
Otila 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
- Belongs to a name with forms in German, French, Spanish and Romanian.
- Its German form names one of the central characters of Goethe's fiction.
- Short and phonetic in Spanish and English alike.
- Most people who know the name will write Otilia or Ottilie, so this spelling will need giving.
- English readers may say OTT-ih-luh, with the stress at the front, until they hear it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Otila to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Otila? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Otila
Feminine · Germanic roots
Frequently asked
- How many Otilas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Otila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Otila in 2025?
- Otila is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Otila with classmates?
- Otila 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 Otila? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Otila and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle