Boys' name · peaked in 1899
Otis name popularity since 1925
45,392 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Otis (1.2% girls, 98.8% boys). Half of them were born in 1953 or earlier, so the typical Otis is about 73 years old in 2026. Otis peaked in 1899 as the #94 name for boys, and it ranked #652 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 45,392
- Named Otis, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1899
- #94 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #652
- for boys in 2025 (422 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 98.8% boys
- 529 girls · 44,863 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 5.08× its national share
Peak year is the year Otis made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Otis births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Otis peaked earlier, in 1899.
- Steepest fall: Between 1990 and 1995, Otis's share of baby boys fell by 42%, from 1 in 9,640 to 1 in 16,700.
- Fastest rise: Between 2011 and 2016, it became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 13,200 baby boys to 1 in 5,860.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Otis's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Otis.
Decade by decade
Babies named Otis in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 97 | 4,417 | – |
| 1930s | 130 | 7,456 | #182 |
| 1940s | 111 | 7,654 | #205 |
| 1950s | 74 | 7,285 | #259 |
| 1960s | 81 | 4,955 | #351 |
| 1970s | 36 | 3,553 | #435 |
| 1980s | 0 | 2,237 | #614 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,367 | #1,050 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,028 | #1,408 |
| 2010s | 0 | 2,414 | #845 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 2,497 | #652 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
30.2% of babies named Otis from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Otis is most popular
The index compares Otis's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Otis.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 5.08× | 2,564 |
| Alabama | 3.62× | 2,668 |
| South Carolina | 3.55× | 2,071 |
| Georgia | 3.34× | 3,846 |
| Arkansas | 3.33× | 1,423 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Otis and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Otis (this page) | 44,863 | 1899 |
| Ottis | 2,876 | 1903 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Otis's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Otis.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Otis (1899).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data