Odetta
A feminine given name of Italian origin meaning "wealthy".
Name Census estimates that about 223 living Americans carry the first name Odetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Odetta today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Odetta births was 1922 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Odetta. 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.
People living today
223
~ 1 in 1,537,015 Americans
Peak year
1922
22 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,994
Tracked since 1900
Popularity
Odetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Odetta from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 140 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
Odetta 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 Odetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Odettas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Odetta
The name Odetta is a feminine given name of Italian origin, derived from the Germanic name Odetta or Odetta. It is a diminutive form of the Old German name Oda or Ode, which means "wealthy" or "prosperous." The name Oda itself is derived from the Germanic root "aud," meaning "fortune" or "riches."
The earliest recorded use of the name Odetta dates back to the 8th century, when it was used in parts of present-day Germany and Italy. It gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in Italian regions such as Tuscany and Umbria.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Odetta was Odetta of Tuscany, a Benedictine nun who lived in the 11th century and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
In the 13th century, Odetta di Godilengo was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of poets and writers in the city of Bologna.
During the Renaissance period, Odetta Malaspina was an influential Italian countess who played a significant role in the political affairs of Genoa in the 15th century.
In the 20th century, the name Odetta gained wider recognition due to the American folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta Holmes (1930-2008), known simply as Odetta. She was a prominent figure in the American folk music revival and was often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement."
Another notable Odetta was Odetta Graham (1920-2008), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and television shows, including The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
While the name Odetta is not as common today as it once was, it has a rich historical background and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including saints, noblewomen, and influential artists.
People
Odetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Odetta 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
Odetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Odetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 223 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Odetta 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 1,537,015 US residents.
Is Odetta a common name?
We classify Odetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 628 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Odetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Odetta was 1922, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Odetta is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Odetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Odetta 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.