Otis — #730 US boys' name
60,653 babies named Otis in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 95% of names given to boys today.
15% of everyone ever named Otis was born in this single decade.
1,031 babies were named Otis in 1920 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Otis
The Social Security Administration has registered 60,653 babies named Otis between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Otis currently holds the #730 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 1,031 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Otis performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 9,352 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Otis shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Georgia, which accounts for 5,297 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Alabama. In total, SSA state-level files list Otis in 48 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Otis in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 60,653 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Otis at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Otis popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1920)
- 1,031
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #730 among boys.
60,653 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1920 with 1,031 births in a single year.
Otis popularity over time — girls
887 total births recorded since 1889 (Otis as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Otis accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Otis by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 9,352 births that decade — 15% of Otis's all-time total
Otis decade highlights
- Peak decade 9,352 births
- Runner-up 7,654 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Otis's strongest decade
9,352 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 15% of all-time use.
Otis by state
Where Otis concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Georgia | | 5,297 | 8.7% |
| #2 | Texas | | 4,285 | 7.1% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 3,570 | 5.9% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 3,287 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Mississippi | | 3,258 | 5.4% |
| #6 | South Carolina | | 2,737 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Virginia | | 2,557 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Louisiana | | 2,450 | 4.0% |
5,297 of 60,653 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 48 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- Georgia 8.7% of nationwide
- Texas 7.1% of nationwide
- Alabama 5.9% of nationwide
- North Carolina 5.4% of nationwide
- Mississippi 5.4% of nationwide
Recorded in 48 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
Georgia accounts for 8.7% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Otis appears in 48 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.