Oda
A name of Scandinavian origin meaning "wealth" or "prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 96 living Americans carry the first name Oda. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Oda today is around 89 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oda births was 1918 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oda. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Oda is about 89 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Odas were born before 1947.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Oda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
96
~ 1 in 3,570,358 Americans
Peak year
1918
52 babies that year
Average age
89
years old
1956 SSA rank
#3,439
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Oda
Oda leans heavily female at 81.5% of total registrations, but 301 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Oda as a male name
- Ranked #3,439 in 1956
- 7 male births in 1956
- Peak: 1916 (13 births)
Oda as a female name
- Ranked #7,275 in 1962
- 5 female births in 1962
- Peak: 1918 (43 births)
Popularity
Oda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oda from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 398 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Oda by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Oda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Odas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Kentucky, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Oda, while Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oda
The name Oda has its origins in the Germanic languages, with a root that can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "aud," meaning wealth or fortune. It was a popular name among various Germanic tribes, including the Goths, Franks, and Saxons, during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oda can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing portions of the Gothic Bible translation by Wulfila. It mentions an individual named Oda, suggesting the name's usage among the Goths at that time.
In the Frankish kingdom, the name gained prominence with Oda of Saxony, who lived in the 9th century and was the wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Frankish Empire during her husband's reign.
Another notable bearer of the name was Oda of Haldensleben, a 10th-century German noblewoman and abbess of the Quedlinburg Abbey. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her influence in the cultural and religious life of the time.
During the High Middle Ages, the name Oda appeared in various historical records across Europe. One example is Oda of Normandy, who lived in the 11th century and was the wife of William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England. She played a crucial role in the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
In the 12th century, Oda of Meaux was a notable French noblewoman and benefactor of religious institutions. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and her life was documented in contemporary sources.
The name Oda also found its way into literary works, such as the Nibelungenlied, a medieval German epic poem from the 13th century. One of the characters, Oda, is portrayed as a noble and virtuous figure, reflecting the positive connotations associated with the name during that period.
People
Oda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Oda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 96 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oda going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,570,358 US residents.
Is Oda a common name?
We classify Oda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,625 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oda most popular?
The single biggest year for Oda was 1918, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oda is about 89 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Oda a female name?
Yes, 81.5% of people registered as Oda in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.