Otis
Masculine
Otis is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 61,082 boys against 887 girls since 1880. See Otis as a girl 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 was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Otis alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 27,000 people named Otis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Otis most popular?
Otis peaked in 1899, reaching #94 nationally. Today it ranks #652, 558 places below that high. See the whole 1899 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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19241,011 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #94reached in 1899
- Change vs 2022
- −7.5%422 in 2025, from 456
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.
Otis in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from Office for National Statistics. Sources
Otiss among us
people named Otis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 4,048 born in 2025 was named Otis
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
Otis 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
Where Otis is headed
Otis should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Otis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Otis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
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
Masculine · #652 in the U.S.
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 27,000 people named Otis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Otis in 2025?
- Otis ranks #652 among US boy names in 2025, with 422 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Otis?
- About 1 in every 4,048 US boys born in 2025 was named Otis — 422 in all.
- Will my child share the name Otis with classmates?
- Otis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Otis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Wayne#652 · Princeton#652 · Quincy#652 · Phillip#651 · Azrael#656 · Keanu#648 · Uriah#648 · Anakin#648
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.
Or jump into a head-to-head
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; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle