Otis
Meaning
from a surname derived from Otto/Odo, Germanic name meaning wealth or fortune
The story
Otis was a surname before it was a first name, drawn from the medieval English name Ode, meaning wealth or fortune, and Americans adopted it early: it was a familiar choice in the decades around 1900 before easing quietly downhill for much of the century. What kept it burning was soul music's most bittersweet legend. Otis Redding, the rasping, pleading heart of Stax Records, wrote Respect before Aretha Franklin made it an anthem, then recorded The Dock of the Bay just days before dying in a plane crash at twenty-six; released after his death, it became the first posthumous single ever to top the American charts. Half a century later, Otis is stirring again, edging up the records since the 2010s in the sweet spot of the vintage revival: an old name, quietly wealthy in history, with an uncommonly deep voice.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Otis peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
20 people · the #124,180 first name in Brazil · median age 38
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
The Otis deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Otis truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Otis fits with your family’s names and surname.
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