Ozell
Feminine · “my strength is the Lord”
Ozell is given to both — 1,116 girls and 1,725 boys since 1880. See Ozell as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Ozell belongs to a small cluster of American names that all start the same way — Ozie, Ozella, Ozro, Ozias — and appeared together in the South in the early twentieth century. The most likely source is a biblical name that reaches English through Greek: Ozias, which is how the Greek scriptures write the Hebrew king Uzziah. The -ell ending was added here, by American families, for sound.
How old is the name Ozell?
Ozell first appears in US birth records in 1902 — 123 years ago. The typical Ozell alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 200 people named Ozell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ozell most popular?
Ozell peaked in 1910, reaching #970 nationally. See the whole 1910 chart.
Where it comes from
From Uzziyahu to Ozell
The story of Ozell
Uzziah reigned in Judah for a long stretch and appears in the genealogy that opens the Gospel of Matthew, where the Greek renders his name Ozias — which is the form English-speaking Protestants met when they read the New Testament. Names from that genealogy were mined steadily by American families in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the Oz- opening spread from there into new formations. The -ell ending was doing heavy work in the same decades, attaching to almost anything, and Ozell is where the two met. It was given to boys and, less often, to girls.
Meaningscholars disagree
my strength is the Lord
If the name descends from Ozias, the Greek form of Uzziah, the meaning is documented: the Hebrew joins a word for strength to a short form of the divine name. If it was assembled from the Oz- sound and the -ell ending, as several of its neighbors clearly were, then no meaning attaches. The record does not decide, and both were happening in the same counties at the same time.
How the name formed
- Uzziyahu
- Ozias
- Ozell
Related forms: Uzziyahu · Ozias
Pronouncing Ozell
oh-ZELL
Two syllables, stress at the back, which the doubled l signals. Some families say OZ-ell with the weight in front instead; both are heard in the region where the name is at home.
Nicknames for Ozell
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
- 1902
- Most girls named
- 192054 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #970reached in 1910
- Change vs 1962
- 0.0%5 in 1964, 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.
Ozell in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Uzziyahu in Hebrew — transliteration
- Ozias in Greek — transliteration
Ozells among us
people named Ozell 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
Ozell 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
- Oz and Zell are both usable and could hardly sound less alike.
- It is short, unambiguous to read, and unmistakable once heard.
- It belongs to a real regional naming tradition rather than to a passing fashion.
- Oz is now firmly attached to a book, a film and a wizard, and the association arrives ahead of the name.
- It belongs strongly to an older American generation, and a child will likely be the only one their age carrying it.
- Nearly every child given this spelling is a boy, but the -ell ending reads as feminine to many American ears, and Ozella exists alongside it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ozell 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 Ozell? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ozell
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ozells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Ozell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ozell in 2025?
- Ozell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ozell with classmates?
- Ozell 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 Ozell? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ozell 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