Othello vs Otho
American parents have registered 3,328 Othos 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
Othello Otho
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 135 years in which either name was published, Otho for 97 years and Othello for 38 years. The lead changed hands 15 times.
- 1880–1971 Otho ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1978–2025 Othello ahead, apart from one short spell
12 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Othello | Otho | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 803 | 3,328 |
| Most in one year | 24 | 109 |
| Babies in 2025 | 8 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 420 | 510 |
| Median age today | 26 | 71 |
| Peak year | 1923 | 1915 |
| Best rank | 2,020th boys | 531st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 8,910th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1905 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 116 / 687 | 0 / 3,328 |
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 Othos alive today are over 71; half the Othellos are over 26. That is 45 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: Othello and Otho.