Given name & surname · also German
Otis
“a wealthy man”·“one who is acute”
Otis is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a wealthy man” and “one who is acute”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original GreekΌτις
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a wealthy man” and “one who is acute”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with German and Greek naming traditions.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Otis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 61,969
- 61,082 boys · 887 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 1,056 babies
- 2025
- 422
- #652 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +20%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 422 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 652 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 20.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,031 in 1920. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (53). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 21,414 as a first name in 2020; 7,160 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Otis’s family of names
In English usage, Otis has a diminutive in Odie. Otis has a related form in Ottis. Otis has a related form in Otess.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Otis
- Otis ReddingAmerican singer and songwriter (1941–1967)
- Otis DavisAmerican sprinter (1932–2024)
- Otis RushAmerican musician (1935–2018)
- MadlibAmerican DJ and music producer (born 1973)
- Otis HarrisAmerican athletics competitorborn 1982
- Otis SpannAmerican Chicago blues pianist (1930–1970)
- Otis BlackwellAmerican songwriter (1931–2002)
- Otis ClayAmerican R&B and soul singer (1942–2016)
- Otis BirdsongAmerican basketball player (born 1955)
Characters named Otis: Ratcatcher (comics character; supervillain in the DC Comics universe).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Otis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Luther
“a soldier of the people”
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Arnold
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Warner
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Wilmer
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>99% boys
Ernest
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
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Leon
“resembling a lion” · “having the strength of a lion”
>99% boys
Louis
“loud; famous”
>99% boys
Warren
“from the fortress; from the enclosure” · “a gamekeeper”
99% boys · 1% girls