Otha
Otha was last recorded in 2018, when 7 babies were given it; 7,789 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2018 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,420 Americans named Otha and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (31% of everyone recorded); the median is 69 years old and half are between 55 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Otha by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Otha?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #10,448, in 2018; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
180 babies in 1921, the peak
Otha peaked in 1921, when 180 babies were given it (136 boys, #535 among boys’ names). It was not recorded in 2025.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | under 5 | 7 | #10,448 | |
| 2014 | under 5 | 5 | #13,508 | |
| 2012 | under 5 | 5 | #13,683 | |
| 2008 | under 5 | 6 | #12,170 | |
| 2006 | under 5 | 5 | #13,482 | |
| 2005 | under 5 | 6 | #11,097 | |
| 2004 | under 5 | 8 | #8,708 | |
| 2003 | under 5 | 9 | #7,668 | |
| 2002 | under 5 | 8 | #8,234 | |
| 2001 | under 5 | 10 | #6,789 |
Every recorded year (130)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | under 5 | 7 | #8,871 | |
| 1999 | under 5 | 5 | #11,136 | |
| 1998 | under 5 | 7 | #8,206 | |
| 1997 | under 5 | 12 | #5,181 | |
| 1996 | under 5 | 13 | #4,804 | |
| 1995 | under 5 | 15 | #4,210 | |
| 1994 | under 5 | 12 | #5,029 | |
| 1993 | under 5 | 12 | #4,916 | |
| 1992 | under 5 | 11 | #5,148 | |
| 1991 | under 5 | 11 | #5,003 | |
| 1990 | under 5 | 18 | #3,417 | |
| 1989 | under 5 | 17 | #3,405 | |
| 1988 | under 5 | 17 | #3,169 | |
| 1987 | under 5 | 19 | #2,798 | |
| 1986 | under 5 | 14 | #3,389 | |
| 1985 | under 5 | 15 | #3,171 | |
| 1984 | under 5 | 15 | #3,058 | |
| 1983 | under 5 | 22 | #2,321 | |
| 1982 | under 5 | 23 | #2,251 | |
| 1981 | under 5 | 25 | #2,127 | |
| 1980 | under 5 | 25 | #2,155 | |
| 1979 | under 5 | 24 | #2,141 | |
| 1978 | under 5 | 29 | #1,822 | |
| 1977 | under 5 | 27 | #1,892 | |
| 1976 | under 5 | 32 | #1,669 | |
| 1975 | under 5 | 27 | #1,817 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 29 | #1,682 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 24 | #1,860 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 36 | #1,435 | |
| 1971 | 9 | #5,864 | 38 | #1,395 |
| 1970 | under 5 | 32 | #1,512 | |
| 1969 | 5 | #8,317 | 56 | #1,039 |
| 1968 | under 5 | 35 | #1,307 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 33 | #1,334 | |
| 1966 | 5 | #7,313 | 44 | #1,123 |
| 1965 | 5 | #7,237 | 49 | #1,062 |
| 1964 | under 5 | 47 | #1,119 | |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,730 | 48 | #1,114 |
| 1962 | 5 | #7,288 | 66 | #935 |
| 1961 | under 5 | 62 | #986 | |
| 1960 | 10 | #4,382 | 53 | #1,066 |
| 1959 | 7 | #5,414 | 45 | #1,165 |
| 1958 | 10 | #4,122 | 68 | #923 |
| 1957 | 10 | #4,121 | 74 | #880 |
| 1956 | 5 | #6,645 | 95 | #753 |
| 1955 | 13 | #3,335 | 83 | #805 |
| 1954 | 13 | #3,280 | 91 | #749 |
| 1953 | 15 | #2,900 | 96 | #732 |
| 1952 | 13 | #3,153 | 96 | #719 |
| 1951 | 12 | #3,242 | 97 | #705 |
| 1950 | 13 | #3,012 | 107 | #672 |
| 1949 | 17 | #2,489 | 111 | #653 |
| 1948 | 20 | #2,236 | 103 | #667 |
| 1947 | 24 | #2,030 | 115 | #644 |
| 1946 | 19 | #2,209 | 79 | #743 |
| 1945 | 14 | #2,423 | 106 | #590 |
| 1944 | 18 | #2,075 | 92 | #649 |
| 1943 | 12 | #2,812 | 100 | #640 |
| 1942 | 28 | #1,581 | 87 | #691 |
| 1941 | 27 | #1,526 | 88 | #651 |
| 1940 | 26 | #1,543 | 80 | #679 |
| 1939 | 20 | #1,777 | 95 | #599 |
| 1938 | 18 | #1,926 | 93 | #619 |
| 1937 | 23 | #1,616 | 87 | #627 |
| 1936 | 25 | #1,497 | 79 | #667 |
| 1935 | 22 | #1,649 | 89 | #626 |
| 1934 | 24 | #1,538 | 113 | #556 |
| 1933 | 24 | #1,539 | 89 | #616 |
| 1932 | 22 | #1,669 | 103 | #586 |
| 1931 | 13 | #2,394 | 108 | #568 |
| 1930 | 31 | #1,396 | 90 | #650 |
| 1929 | 29 | #1,439 | 115 | #550 |
| 1928 | 44 | #1,159 | 99 | #614 |
| 1927 | 42 | #1,210 | 114 | #581 |
| 1926 | 28 | #1,581 | 124 | #546 |
| 1925 | 40 | #1,248 | 120 | #568 |
| 1924 | 35 | #1,400 | 102 | #637 |
| 1923 | 40 | #1,242 | 104 | #629 |
| 1922 | 45 | #1,153 | 118 | #596 |
| 1921 | 44 | #1,163 | 136 | #535 |
| 1920 | 34 | #1,371 | 140 | #518 |
| 1919 | 22 | #1,792 | 114 | #560 |
| 1918 | 38 | #1,230 | 119 | #551 |
| 1917 | 40 | #1,144 | 131 | #503 |
| 1916 | 35 | #1,225 | 91 | #614 |
| 1915 | 34 | #1,184 | 108 | #538 |
| 1914 | 21 | #1,426 | 80 | #560 |
| 1913 | 21 | #1,267 | 78 | #495 |
| 1912 | 23 | #1,107 | 59 | #514 |
| 1911 | 15 | #1,221 | 31 | #542 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,495 | 28 | #544 |
| 1909 | 9 | #1,574 | 32 | #451 |
| 1908 | 11 | #1,329 | 29 | #462 |
| 1907 | 16 | #982 | 27 | #453 |
| 1906 | 11 | #1,210 | 22 | #486 |
| 1905 | 14 | #1,049 | 22 | #490 |
| 1904 | 7 | #1,616 | 19 | #508 |
| 1903 | 10 | #1,188 | 16 | #568 |
| 1902 | 11 | #1,119 | 19 | #501 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,434 | 15 | #526 |
| 1900 | 12 | #1,154 | 21 | #527 |
| 1899 | 10 | #1,083 | 17 | #471 |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,475 | 14 | #597 |
| 1897 | under 5 | 12 | #637 | |
| 1896 | 10 | #1,106 | 21 | #435 |
| 1895 | 8 | #1,273 | 14 | #575 |
| 1894 | 7 | #1,324 | 19 | #457 |
| 1893 | 9 | #1,074 | 9 | #749 |
| 1892 | under 5 | 13 | #588 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 13 | #519 | |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,076 | 14 | #529 |
| 1889 | under 5 | 11 | #614 | |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,428 | under 5 | |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,127 | 8 | #730 |
| 1886 | under 5 | 10 | #634 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 7 | #829 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 13 | #513 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 10 | #636 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 6 | #846 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 8 | #727 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Otha a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 7,789 Americans recorded as Otha, 18% are girls and 82% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Otha: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Otha, and how old are they?
2,420 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 31% of the 7,789 Americans ever recorded as Otha. The median Otha alive today is 69 years old; half are between 55 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 2,232 people named Otha (314 women and girls, 1,918 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,992 born in the U.S. The Census count is 25% 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 | 437 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,140 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 495 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 245 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 86 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 12 |
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 Otha born?
The states with the most babies named Otha are Mississippi, Texas and North Carolina, with 49% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Mississippi is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 991 | not ranked | 7.3× |
| Texas | 614 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| North Carolina | 441 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Georgia | 350 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Alabama | 333 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Arkansas | 321 | not ranked | 2.8× |
| Tennessee | 309 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Kentucky | 212 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Virginia | 173 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Louisiana | 167 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Otha is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Otha is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 7.3 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 boys’ 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 Otha 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 11,117 babies since 1880, Otha is the most given (70% of them).
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 Otha
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 Otha and names like it
- Compare Otha and OthoBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sOtha peaked in 1921.
- Mississippi’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Otha since 1910.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Otha.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Otha alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with OMost given first.