Otis
Feminine
Otis is given to boys far more often — 61,082 boys against 887 girls since 1880. See Otis as a boy name
Otis is a Massachusetts surname that became a national first name, and the family it came from produced two of the more consequential Americans of the revolutionary generation — one famous, one who should be.
How old is the name Otis?
Otis first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Otis alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 300 people named Otis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Otis most popular?
Otis peaked in 1900, reaching #970 nationally. See the whole 1900 chart.
Where it comes from
From Odo to Otis
The story of Otis
James Otis argued against the writs of assistance in a Boston courtroom, for five hours, and lost — but the argument that a general search warrant was illegal because a man's house is his castle went into the American constitutional tradition and eventually into the Fourth Amendment. John Adams, who was in the room, said the child independence was born there. His sister Mercy Otis Warren wrote satirical plays about the royal governor while the crisis was building, published anonymously because a woman could not sign such things, and then wrote a three-volume history of the revolution — one of the first, by somebody who had watched it happen and corresponded with most of the people in it.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The surname comes from a medieval given name, a form of the Norman Odo, and what that name meant before it was a name has not been recovered. The readings sometimes offered — wealth, or a Greek word about hearing — belong to other names entirely.
How the name formed
- Odo
- Otes
- Otis
Pronouncing Otis
OH-tis
Two syllables, stress at the front, ending in a soft s. Nothing in the spelling is ambiguous.
Nicknames for Otis
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
- 192732 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #970reached in 1900
- Change vs 1972
- −16.7%5 in 1976, from 6
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.
Otiss among us
people named Otis 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
Otis 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
- It is short, warm and completely unambiguous in English.
- It has genuine American history behind it rather than an invented one.
- It has come back into fashion without ever becoming crowded.
- For many Americans the name means an elevator company before it means a person.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes, though the boys hold nearly all of it.
- No meaning can honestly be handed to a child with it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Otis 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 Otis? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Otis
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Otiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Otis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Otis in 2025?
- Otis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Otis with classmates?
- Otis 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 Otis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Otis 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