Odus
A masculine given name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the first name Odus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Odus today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Odus births was 1918 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Odus. 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 Odus is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Odus' were born before 1958.
People living today
116
~ 1 in 2,954,779 Americans
Peak year
1918
24 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1979 SSA rank
#6,761
Tracked since 1895
Census
Odus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 180 people with the first name Odus, which placed it at #41,022 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
#41,022
National first-name rank
People counted
180
180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Odus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Odus is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Odus 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 Odus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.0% · 153
- Black or African American6.7% · 12
- Two or more races4.4% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Odus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Odus from the 1890s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 173 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
Odus 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 Odus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Odus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Odus, while Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Odus
The given name Odus is thought to have originated from the Greek language and culture, with its roots dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word "odous," which means "tooth" or "teeth." This connection likely stems from the name's resemblance to the word for teeth, although the exact reasoning behind the name's formation remains unclear.
In terms of historical references, the name Odus does not appear to have been widely documented or referenced in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records from the Greek or Roman eras. However, it is worth noting that many names from that era were lost or evolved over time, making it difficult to trace their origins with certainty.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Odus are relatively scarce, as it was not a common name throughout history. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Odus of Bayeux, a French monk and scholar who lived in the 11th century. He is known for his contributions to the field of mathematics and his work in the translation of Arabic texts.
Another notable figure with the name Odus was Odus of Normandy, a Norman nobleman and military leader who lived in the 12th century. He participated in the Crusades and played a role in the conquest of Antioch during the Third Crusade.
In the 16th century, there was an Italian artist named Odus Calvaert, who was born in Antwerp in 1538 and died in Bologna in 1619. He was a painter and etcher known for his work in the Mannerist and early Baroque styles.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Odus Bizzell was an American farmer and landowner who lived in Alabama from 1827 to 1907. He was a prominent figure in his local community and owned a significant amount of land during his lifetime.
Finally, in the 20th century, Odus Mitchell was an American baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues from 1921 to 1935. He was a pitcher and played for several teams, including the Kansas City Monarchs and the Detroit Stars.
While the name Odus has not been widely popular throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, spanning different time periods and cultures.
People
Odus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Odus 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
Odus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Odus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Odus 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 2,954,779 US residents.
Is Odus a common name?
We classify Odus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 596 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Odus most popular?
The single biggest year for Odus was 1918, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Odus is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Odus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 180 people with the name Odus, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,022 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 Odus 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 Odus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Odus leans strongly male. 174 people counted with this name were male (96.7%), compared with 6 female bearers (3.3%). 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 Odus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Odus is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Odus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Odus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (153 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 Odus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Odus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Odus 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 Odus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Odus 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 Odus 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 are named Odus?
Find out how many Americans are named Odus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.