Othel vs Othello
American parents have registered 886 Othels since 1880, against 803 Othellos. But in 2025 it was Othello that was commoner, 8 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Othel Othello
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 100 years in which either name was published, Othello for 56 years and Othel for 44 years. The lead changed hands 20 times.
- 1911–1951 Othel ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 1961–2025 Othello ahead, apart from one short spell
16 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Othel | Othello | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 886 | 803 |
| Most in one year | 45 | 24 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 8 |
| Estimated living today | 120 | 420 |
| Median age today | 77 | 26 |
| Peak year | 1921 | 1923 |
| Best rank | 1,140th boys | 2,020th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 8,910th |
| First recorded | 1906 | 1905 |
| Girls / boys | 154 / 732 | 116 / 687 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Othels alive today are over 77; half the Othellos are over 26. That is 51 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Othel and Othello.