Odis
A masculine name of Greek origin, meaning "traveler" or "wanderer."
Name Census estimates that about 2,906 living Americans carry the first name Odis. It is a predominantly male name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Odis today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Odis births was 1927 (215 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Odis. 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
- • Although Odis is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 171 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 117,947 Americans
Peak year
1927
215 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,971
Tracked since 1884
Census
Odis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,345 people with the first name Odis, which placed it at #6,745 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,745
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Odis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Odis is White at 48.8%. The next largest groups are Black (43.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Odis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Odis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.8% · 1,144
- Black or African American43.2% · 1,013
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 93
- Two or more races3.3% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Odis
Odis leans heavily male at 98.0% of total registrations, but 171 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Odis as a male name
- Ranked #6,364 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (208 births)
Odis as a female name
- Ranked #3,971 in 1944
- 7 female births in 1944
- Peak: 1920 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Odis leans strongly male. 2,290 people counted with this name were male (97.4%), compared with 61 female bearers (2.6%).
Popularity
Odis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Odis from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,924 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
Odis 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 Odis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Odis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, Arkansas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Odis, while Missouri, Michigan, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 336 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Odis
The name Odis has its origins in Greek culture, stemming from the word "odious," which means "hateful" or "loathsome." It is believed to have emerged during the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BC.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are no direct references to the name Odis, but its negative connotation aligns with the characterization of certain antagonistic figures or villains. The earliest known record of the name Odis dates back to the 3rd century BC, when it was used as a personal name among some Greek communities.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Odis was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 2nd century BC. While little is known about his life and works, he is mentioned briefly in historical texts as a follower of the Cynic philosophical school.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Odis was occasionally used among the Eastern Orthodox Christian population. In the 9th century, there was a Byzantine monk named Odis who gained recognition for his ascetic lifestyle and devotion to the faith.
In the Middle Ages, the name Odis was relatively uncommon but still appeared sporadically across various European regions. One notable figure was Odis of Meaux, a French nobleman who lived during the 12th century and played a role in the Crusades.
In more recent history, there have been a few individuals with the name Odis who achieved some level of recognition. Odis Thurman (1888-1963) was an American baseball player who played for several teams in the early 20th century. Odis Mairs (1912-1997) was a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1964.
While the name Odis has ancient Greek roots and a somewhat negative connotation, it has been adopted and used across various cultures throughout history, albeit to a limited extent. Despite its rarity, the name has persisted over centuries, carrying a unique and distinctive character.
People
Odis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Odis 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
Odis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Odis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,906 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Odis 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 117,947 US residents.
Is Odis a common name?
We classify Odis as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,385 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Odis most popular?
The single biggest year for Odis was 1927, when 215 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Odis is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Odis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,345 people with the name Odis, or 0.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,745 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Odis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Odis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Odis leans strongly male. 2,290 people counted with this name were male (97.4%), compared with 61 female bearers (2.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Odis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Odis is White at 48.8%. The next largest groups are Black (43.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Odis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Odis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.8% (1,144 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Odis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Odis a male name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Odis in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Odis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Odis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Odis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Odis?
Want to know how many Americans are named Odis? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.