Otoniel
Masculine · “lion of God”
Otoniel is a name from the Book of Judges that Spanish kept and English mostly dropped. Othniel is the first of the judges of Israel, Caleb's kinsman, and the Spanish form is common in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. Its American peak is 1995, following Central American migration rather than any English-language tradition.
How old is the name Otoniel?
Otoniel first appears in US birth records in 1958 — 67 years ago. The typical Otoniel alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 1,000 people named Otoniel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Otoniel most popular?
Otoniel peaked in 1995, reaching #2102 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 3,759 places below that high. See the whole 1995 chart.
Where it comes from
From Otniel to Otoniel
The story of Otoniel
Othniel appears in Judges 1 and 3: he takes the town of Kiriath-sepher, marries Caleb's daughter Achsah, and becomes the first of the judges who deliver Israel. He is a minor figure with a real narrative rather than a name in a list, which is one reason the name survived. Spanish naming kept a wider range of Old Testament names than English did, and Otoniel is ordinary in Central America and among Latin American Protestants in particular. American records show it from the 1970s and peaking in the mid-1990s, tracking Guatemalan, Honduran and Salvadoran migration.
Meaningscholars disagree
lion of God, or the strength of God
Hebrew Otniel ends in el, 'God', which is certain. The first element is disputed: one reading connects it to a word for a lion, giving 'lion of God'; another to a root meaning force or strength, giving 'God is my strength'; a third proposes 'God's hour'. The Hebrew is short enough that several roots fit and none is decisive. The divine element is the only part that is settled.
How the name formed
- Otniel
- Othniel
- Otoniel
Related forms: Otoniel · Othniel · Otniel · Otoniel
Pronouncing Otoniel
oh-toh-nee-EL
Four syllables, stress at the end, with every vowel fully sounded in Spanish. English speakers reduce the middle syllables and sometimes stress the second instead. The end-stress is the Spanish pattern and the one used where the name is common.
Nicknames for Otoniel
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
- 1958
- Most boys named
- 200231 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2102reached in 1995
- Change vs 2024
- +25.0%15 in 2025, from 12
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.
Otoniel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Otoniel in Spanish — same name
- Othniel in English — related form
- Otniel in Hebrew — related form
- Otoniel in Portuguese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Otoniels among us
people named Otoniel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Otoniel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Brewster test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Otoniel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Brewster climbed just as high around 1914, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Brewster's path sketches the road Otoniel is walking now.
Otoniel 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
Otoniel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Otoniel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has a genuine scriptural bearer with an actual story rather than a genealogy entry.
- Toni and Oto are both usable short forms with different characters.
- The spelling is fully phonetic in Spanish.
- Four syllables is long for everyday use, so a short form is effectively required.
- English speakers will spell it Othniel or mishear it as Otto.
- The Hebrew first element is genuinely contested, so the meaning needs a qualifier.
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What they receive
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Otoniel
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Otoniels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Otoniel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Otoniel in 2025?
- Otoniel ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Otoniel?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Otoniel — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Otoniel with classmates?
- Otoniel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Otoniel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Otoniel? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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