Otis
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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.
How popular is Otis around the world?
In the United States, 2,497 babies were named Otis between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 726 boys named Otis were born in 2025, the 71st most common name among boys that year.
Otis is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, New Zealand, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, Ireland, Austria, France, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,700
In the United States, 2,497 babies were named Otis between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Otis peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Otis has stayed between 1,028 and 7,359 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 810
In England and Wales, 726 boys named Otis were born in 2025, the 71st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 1,400
In New Zealand, 40 boys named Otis were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 2,300
In Scotland, 20 boys named Otis were registered in 2024, the 209th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Otis in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 7,300
In Canada, 50 boys named Otis were born in 2024, the 560th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 7,700
In Ireland, 7 boys named Otis were born in 2025, the 468th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 boys named Otis were born in 2025, the 827th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 21,000
In France, about 30 boys named Otis were born in 2025, ranked 1,254th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 1.4M
In Spain, 33 residents are named Otis, ranked 20,468th among men, with a mean age of 13.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2022
Otis is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 20 people in Brazil were named Otis, ranked 124,180th, with a median age of 38.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Poland
last on record 2022
Otis is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Mexico City and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
Names of music legends · Short names · Familiar but never popular
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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