ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 👦As Boy Name 1913 First Year 2026 Last Year 2025 Peak Year #1772 Peak Rank 713 Total Count 85 Years Active 👧As Girl Name 1905 First Year 1930 Last Year 1919 Peak Year #3005 Peak Rank 116 Total Count 17 Years Active Advertisement 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Othello What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, often shortened to Othello, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603\. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulated by his ensign, Iago, into suspecting his wife Desdemona of infidelity. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello) ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * Literature [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Othello](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Othello_et_Desd%C3%A9mone_%C3%A0_Venise_-_Th%C3%A9odore_Chass%C3%A9riau_-_Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre_Peintures_RF_3897.jpg/330px-Othello_et_Desd%C3%A9mone_%C3%A0_Venise_-_Th%C3%A9odore_Chass%C3%A9riau_-_Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre_Peintures_RF_3897.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=thumbnail)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello) 📖 ## The Story of Othello ### As a girl name American parents first put Othello on the record books as a girl name in 1905, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1919, when 10 Othellos were born — ranking #3,005 that year. About 43% of every Othello on record arrived during the 1910s, its defining decade. Othello last appeared in the published SSA data in 1930, with 8 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 116 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1900s to the 2020s. ### As a boy name American parents first put Othello on the record books as a boy name in 1913, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2025, when 17 Othellos were born — ranking #5,523 that year. As of 2026, Othello ranks #5,540 for boys with 17 births, rising sharply (+57% over the past five years). All told, over 713 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time Girls Boys ## Popularity by State 👧 Girls 👦 Boys ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Othello Phonetically similar names — useful when Othello is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Akela](/akela) * [Anello](/anello) * Acero * Appello * [Acela](/acela) * Atholl * Akella * Aiello * [Otello](/otello) * [Athalie](/athalie) * [Ethel](/ethel) * [Attila](/attila) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Othello What does the name Othello mean? The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, often shortened to Othello, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603\. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulated by his ensign, Iago, into suspecting his wife Desdemona of infidelity. What is the origin of the name Othello? Othello has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Literature. How popular is Othello in 2026? In 2026, Othello ranks #5,540 among boys' names in the U.S., with 17 babies given the name that year. When was Othello most popular? Othello reached its peak popularity in 2025, ranking #1,772 that year with 17 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Othello most popular? Othello has historically been most popular in Texas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Othello. Is Othello a unisex name? Yes — Othello is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 14% of Othellos assigned female and 86% assigned male historically. What names go well with Othello? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Othello include Bliss, Phill, Patton. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names ### 👦 Similar Boy Names [👦BlissPeak #1772](/bliss)[👦PhillPeak #1772](/phill)[👦PattonPeak #1772](/patton)[👦EliazarPeak #1772](/eliazar) ### 👧 Similar Girl Names [👧OmahPeak #3005](/omah)[👧PhilenaPeak #3005](/philena)[👧LuvenaPeak #3005](/luvena)[👧MaidiePeak #3005](/maidie) Advertisement ## About the name Othello Othello is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1913 and has accumulated 713 births in the dataset. Othello's peak popularity came in 2025 when it ranked #1,772\. Use the chart and map above to compare Othello's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2025 → ](/year/2025) * [ Names of the 2020s → ](/decade/2020s) * [ Names starting with "O" → ](/letter/o) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) * [ Browse unisex names → ](/names/unisex) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides. Advertisement