Odessa
Odessa was given to 193 girls in 2025, #1,197 among girls’ names; 18,718 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,470 Americans named Odessa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (35% of everyone recorded); the median is 52 years old and half are between 18 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Odessa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Odessa mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Odessa is “a female given name.”
Uncertain; possibly from the placename, with usage influenced by the name Odysseus.
/oʊˈdɛsə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Odessa?
#1,197 among girls’ names, 2025
Odessa rose from #2,451 in 2015 to #1,197 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.04 to 0.12 per 1,000.
470 babies in 1920, the peak
Odessa peaked in 1920, when 470 babies were given it (464 girls, #304 among girls’ names). The 193 births of 2025 are 41% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 193 | #1,197 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 133 | #1,587 | 0.08 |
| 2023 | 109 | #1,847 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 115 | #1,791 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 126 | #1,663 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 131 | #1,603 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 118 | #1,753 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 112 | #1,827 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 99 | #2,002 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 81 | #2,340 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 75 | #2,451 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 61 | #2,832 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 47 | #3,395 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 46 | #3,511 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 46 | #3,486 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 49 | #3,349 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 44 | #3,662 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 59 | #2,985 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 64 | #2,846 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 52 | #3,212 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 46 | #3,351 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 60 | #2,728 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 59 | #2,692 | 0.03 |
| 2002 | 52 | #2,875 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 52 | #2,834 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 56 | #2,658 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 55 | #2,596 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 41 | #3,097 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 52 | #2,499 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 39 | #3,070 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 53 | #2,441 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 36 | #3,199 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 38 | #3,083 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 36 | #3,191 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 49 | #2,532 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 48 | #2,504 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 39 | #2,845 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 41 | #2,625 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 37 | #2,697 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 33 | #2,889 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 38 | #2,579 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 40 | #2,406 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 55 | #1,899 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 66 | #1,710 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 45 | #2,252 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 45 | #2,239 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 64 | #1,723 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 54 | #1,853 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 52 | #1,918 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 53 | #1,783 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 47 | #1,927 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 43 | #1,988 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 61 | #1,541 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 43 | #1,935 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 49 | #1,819 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 39 | #2,106 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 55 | #1,624 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 48 | #1,698 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 53 | #1,554 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 55 | #1,505 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 64 | #1,386 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 91 | #1,160 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 54 | #1,538 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 84 | #1,210 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 84 | #1,209 | 0.04 |
| 1960 | 95 | #1,111 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 96 | #1,094 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 105 | #1,013 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 87 | #1,132 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 112 | #953 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 103 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 124 | #848 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 121 | #846 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 133 | #779 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 149 | #717 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 137 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1949 | 133 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 182 | #613 | 0.11 |
| 1947 | 160 | #664 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 152 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1945 | 159 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1944 | 193 | #521 | 0.15 |
| 1943 | 153 | #615 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 179 | #557 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 213 | #479 | 0.18 |
| 1940 | 184 | #511 | 0.16 |
| 1939 | 190 | #487 | 0.17 |
| 1938 | 198 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1937 | 237 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1936 | 228 | #430 | 0.22 |
| 1935 | 224 | #430 | 0.21 |
| 1934 | 272 | #392 | 0.26 |
| 1933 | 257 | #402 | 0.25 |
| 1932 | 278 | #392 | 0.26 |
| 1931 | 263 | #400 | 0.25 |
| 1930 | 289 | #398 | 0.26 |
| 1929 | 297 | #390 | 0.27 |
| 1928 | 365 | #356 | 0.32 |
| 1927 | 359 | #360 | 0.30 |
| 1926 | 388 | #335 | 0.33 |
| 1925 | 437 | #321 | 0.36 |
| 1924 | 462 | #311 | 0.37 |
| 1923 | 445 | #307 | 0.37 |
| 1922 | 449 | #307 | 0.37 |
| 1921 | 448 | #309 | 0.36 |
| 1920 | 464 | #304 | 0.39 |
| 1919 | 457 | #298 | 0.40 |
| 1918 | 437 | #304 | 0.38 |
| 1917 | 370 | #319 | 0.34 |
| 1916 | 353 | #325 | 0.34 |
| 1915 | 343 | #322 | 0.35 |
| 1914 | 264 | #325 | 0.35 |
| 1913 | 255 | #299 | 0.41 |
| 1912 | 225 | #300 | 0.40 |
| 1911 | 187 | #285 | 0.45 |
| 1910 | 194 | #280 | 0.49 |
| 1909 | 168 | #278 | 0.48 |
| 1908 | 162 | #278 | 0.48 |
| 1907 | 147 | #286 | 0.46 |
| 1906 | 132 | #290 | 0.45 |
| 1905 | 113 | #318 | 0.39 |
| 1904 | 107 | #314 | 0.39 |
| 1903 | 88 | #334 | 0.34 |
| 1902 | 90 | #331 | 0.34 |
| 1901 | 85 | #330 | 0.36 |
| 1900 | 91 | #356 | 0.30 |
| 1899 | 54 | #394 | 0.23 |
| 1898 | 66 | #383 | 0.26 |
| 1897 | 63 | #369 | 0.27 |
| 1896 | 45 | #432 | 0.19 |
| 1895 | 51 | #396 | 0.22 |
| 1894 | 57 | #371 | 0.26 |
| 1893 | 52 | #376 | 0.24 |
| 1892 | 37 | #449 | 0.17 |
| 1891 | 49 | #358 | 0.26 |
| 1890 | 34 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1889 | 40 | #384 | 0.22 |
| 1888 | 25 | #510 | 0.14 |
| 1887 | 28 | #419 | 0.19 |
| 1886 | 19 | #522 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 17 | #535 | 0.13 |
| 1884 | 18 | #496 | 0.14 |
| 1883 | 18 | #460 | 0.16 |
| 1882 | 10 | #626 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 15 | #443 | 0.16 |
| 1880 | 14 | #464 | 0.15 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Odessa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Odessa has been given almost only to girls: 154 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Odessa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Odessa, and how old are they?
6,470 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 35% of the 18,718 Americans ever recorded as Odessa. The median Odessa alive today is 52 years old; half are between 18 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 5,909 people named Odessa (5,847 women and girls, 62 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,900 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,090 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,670 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 765 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 683 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 830 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,390 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Odessa born?
The states with the most babies named Odessa are Texas, Georgia and North Carolina, with 34% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,493 | #2,346 | 1.4× |
| Georgia | 1,403 | #1,176 | 2.6× |
| North Carolina | 1,313 | #1,399 | 2.3× |
| Alabama | 1,066 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| Mississippi | 1,030 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| South Carolina | 725 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Arkansas | 710 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Louisiana | 626 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Virginia | 539 | #1,325 | 1.3× |
| Tennessee | 454 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Odessa is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Odessa is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 3.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Odessa with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 19,916 babies since 1880, Odessa is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 193 of their 193 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Odessa
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Odessa and names like it
- Compare Odessa and OdessiaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sOdessa peaked in 1920.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Odessa since 1910.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Odessa.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Odessa alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with OMost given first.