Othar
Combination of two Old Norse words meaning "wealth" and "warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Othar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Othar today is around 94 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Othar births was 1919 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Othar. 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 Othar is about 94 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Othars were born before 1942.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Othar. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1919
9 babies that year
Average age
94
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,934
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Othar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Othar from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 42 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Othar remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Othar 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 Othar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Othar
The name Othar has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, tracing back to the 5th century. It is derived from the Old Norse name Óttarr, which itself comes from the word "ótti" meaning "fear" or "dread." The name was particularly popular among the Vikings and Norse settlers of Scandinavia during the Viking Age.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Othar can be found in the Icelandic sagas, where it is mentioned as the name of a Viking warrior who fought in the battles of King Harald Fairhair in the 9th century. The name also appears in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland, as the name of one of the first Norwegian settlers on the island.
In the 11th century, Othar the Black is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a Norwegian chieftain who led a fleet of Viking ships in an invasion of England. He is said to have been killed in battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the year 1049.
Another notable figure bearing the name Othar was Othar of Halogaland, a Norwegian explorer who is credited with being one of the first Europeans to reach the White Sea in the late 9th century. His journey is described in the medieval work known as the "Ohthere's Account," which provides valuable insights into the Viking Age and early exploration of the Arctic regions.
In the 13th century, Othar de Bremontier was a French knight who fought in the Seventh Crusade led by King Louis IX of France. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles as one of the bravest knights in the crusader army.
Othar de Villars, a 14th-century French nobleman and military leader, is also recorded in historical documents. He served as a commander in the Hundred Years' War and played a significant role in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, where he was captured by the English forces.
People
Othar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Othar 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
Othar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Othar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Othar 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Othar a common name?
We classify Othar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 97 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Othar most popular?
The single biggest year for Othar was 1919, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Othar is about 94 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Othar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Othar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Othar 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 Othar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Othar 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 Othar 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Othar?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.