How popular is the baby name Otis in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Otis.

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Popularity of the baby name Otis


Posts that mention the name Otis

Popular baby names in Belgium, 2020

Flag of Belgium
Flag of Belgium

According to data from Statistics Belgium, the country’s most popular baby names last year were Olivia and Arthur.

Here are Belgium’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 548 baby girls
  2. Emma, 529
  3. Mila, 489
  4. Louise, 432
  5. Lina, 411
  6. Alice, 361
  7. Sofia, 359
  8. Mia, 353
  9. Anna, 350
  10. Juliette, 332

Boy Names

  1. Arthur, 587 baby boys
  2. Noah, 564
  3. Jules, 543
  4. Louis, 499
  5. Lucas, 467 (tie)
  6. Liam, 467 (tie)
  7. Adam, 443
  8. Victor, 412
  9. Gabriel, 384
  10. Mohamed, 345

In the girls’ top 10, Sofia and Mia replaced Elena and Lucie.

The boys’ top 10 includes the same names, but in a different order.

In the girls’ top 100, the names that saw the largest increases in usage were Alba (+142%), Capucine (+55%), and Lea (+45%).

In the boys’ top 100, the names that saw the largest increases were Otis (+68%), Oliver (+34%), and Charles (+31%).

In each of Belgium’s three main regions, the top baby names were…

  • Flanders (about 58% of the population): Olivia and Noah
  • Wallonia (about 32%): Emma and Gabriel
  • Brussels-Capital Region (about 11%): Sofia and Mohamed

Finally, here’s a selection of baby names that were given to just 5 babies each in Belgium last year:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Aubane, Bibi, Célou, Diyana, Emmelien, Frauke, Hadia, Ianthe, Jitte, Kessy, Lumi, Minthe, Noussayba, Oana, Phéline, Rokaya, Sabina, Thilly, Vaiana, Ylana, ZinebAurian, Baziel, Camiel, Dalil, Elyan, Fabrice, Haris, Imraan, Jorik, Kabir, Leart, Maëlio, Nélio, Ole, Peter, Runar, Shimon, Tiesj, Virgile, Yllan, Zayi

In 2019, the top two names in Belgium were also Olivia and Arthur.

Sources: First names for boys and girls | Statbel, Demographics of Belgium – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Belgium (public domain)

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2020

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the most popular baby names in England and Wales last year — for the fifth year in a row — were Olivia and Oliver.

Here are the top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 3,640 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 3,319
  3. Isla, 2,749
  4. Ava, 2,679
  5. Mia, 2,303
  6. Ivy, 2,166
  7. Lily, 2,150
  8. Isabella, 2,052
  9. Rosie, 2,035
  10. Sophia, 2,028

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 4,225 baby boys
  2. George, 4,100
  3. Arthur, 4,052
  4. Noah, 4,042
  5. Muhammad, 3,710
  6. Leo, 3,314
  7. Oscar, 3,268
  8. Harry, 3,209
  9. Archie, 2,944
  10. Jack, 2,900

In the girls’ top 10, Ivy and Rosie replaced Grace and Freya.

In the boys’ top 10, Archie replaced Charlie. (No doubt Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to name their first child Archie in 2019 gave the name a boost, but Archie was on the rise in England and Wales long before it became a royal baby name.)

The fastest-rising names within the top 100 were…

  • Arabella, Mabel, Lyra, and Maeve (for girls)
  • Roman, Milo, Otis, and Myles (for boys)

(The popular British TV series Sex Education features main characters named Otis and Maeve.)

Here are the top 10 lists for England and Wales separately:

England, Top 10Wales, Top 10
Girl NamesOlivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Mia, Ivy, Lily, Isabella, Sophia, RosieOlivia, Amelia, Isla, Rosie, Ava, Lily, Mia, Ella, Willow, Freya
Boy NamesOliver, George, Arthur, Noah, Muhammad, Leo, Oscar, Harry, Archie, HenryNoah, Oliver, Leo, Theo, Finley, Arthur, George, Archie, Oscar, Charlie

Finally, here are some of the rare baby names from the other end of the rankings. Each one was given to just 3 babies in England and Wales last year.

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Aelfwynn, Aerith, Berfin, Boheme, Croia, Dorsa, Dwija, Elitsa, Fianna, Gwennie, Hecate, Hetvi, Isla-Bleu, Jamia, Junainah, Kimran, Liarna, Liliwen, Mehwish, Navara, Noorul, Otterly, Palma, Quratulain, Rimsha, Saltanat, Tafida, Tanzeela, Unaizah, Vesa, Wajan, ZimmalAlazar, Brychan, Cavanni, Corran, Dhvij, Ensar, Floki, Grantas, Gruff, Hendry, Huxon, Itanas, Jaivik, Kitson, Lindon, Mursalin, Nandor, Nyron, Oviyan, Phaedon, Qaim, Reggie-Blu, Riven, Romarni, Sejun, Tecwyn, Tomek, Udham, Vishwak, Wolfram, Xheison, Yuvi, Zennor

Liliwen comes from lili wen, one of the Welsh words for snowdrop (a small, white flower that blooms during the winter). The hyphenated variant Lili-wen was also given to three baby girls last year, bringing the grand total to six.

Also given to six baby girls last year? The name Eirlys, from eirlys, another Welsh word for snowdrop. :)

P.S. Want to see the 2019 rankings?

Sources: Baby names in England and Wales: 2020 (ONS), All data related to Baby names in England and Wales: 2020 (ONS), Snowdrops at Penrhyn Castle

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Numerology: Baby names with a value of 9

Baby names with a numerological value of 9

If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 9, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 9-names.

Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “nines” in numerology?

Turning names into numbers

Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.

First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.

For instance, the letters in the name Rockwell correspond to the numbers 18, 15, 3, 11, 23, 5, 12, and 12. The sum of these numbers is 99. The digits of 99 added together equal 18, and the digits of 18 added together equal 9 — the numerological value of Rockwell.

Baby names with a value of 9

Below you’ll find the most popular 9-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.

9

The letters in the unisex baby name Ace add up to 9.

9 via 18

The letters in the following baby names add up to 18, which reduces to nine (1+8=9).

Girl names (9 via 18)Boy names (9 via 18)
Lea, Gaia, Ela, Acacia, AddiCan, Adal, Acie, Edi, Jag

9 via 27

The letters in the following baby names add up to 27, which reduces to nine (2+7=9).

Girl names (9 via 27)Boy names (9 via 27)
Leia, Alma, Aleah, Aya, Chana, Adele, Dalia, Elia, Emi, Amal, Eila, Safa, Koa, Daila, AdleeCaden, Koa, Jake, Ahmad, Eddie, Cain, Cian, Job, Geo, Oak, Jeff

9 via 36

The letters in the following baby names add up to 36, which reduces to nine (3+6=9).

Girl names (9 via 36)Boy names (9 via 36)
Malia, Lina, Angie, Kiana, Halo, Anika, Maddie, Vida, Belle, Darla, Zia, Erica, Nila, Reece, Emme, Aoife, Nahla, Lani, Irha, Leen, Sanaa, Coco, Indi, Amila, Maila, Una, Safia, AikoChase, Reid, Jay, Caiden, Reece, Alden, Lian, Kiaan, Kase, Bilal, Davi, Kip, Ilan, Neel, Deegan, Zade, Fidel, Dakoda, Earl, Caelan, Halo, Chet, Luc, Rael, Mick, Chip, Abdias

9 via 45

The letters in the following baby names add up to 45, which reduces to nine (4+5=9).

Girl names (9 via 45)Boy names (9 via 45)
Remi, Arya, Ariel, Fiona, Selah, Raya, Kora, Helena, Emelia, Briana, Yara, Tiana, Kenna, Emmie, Dulce, Amelie, Paola, Ayra, Kacey, Jayde, Eleni, Anita, Zadie, Areli, Nailah, Amilia, Nechama, Delani, Regan, Ahlani, Tania, Cori, Iqra, Makena, Audra, Alaska, Debora, Denali, Minha, Ivie, Jiya, Oona, Cove, Marla, Denim, Auden, Alahni, Kyah, Zen, Avila, Rhema, Luci, Caleigh, Ilani, Camari, Arlie, Kalli, Ilse, MahaliaElijah, Daniel, Luka, Cohen, Clark, Tadeo, Ariel, Kayce, Emir, Ty, Remi, Koen, Enoch, Azael, Damir, Zen, Khalid, Vance, Meir, Fox, Kacey, Keon, Gino, Kenan, Denim, Aydan, Lamar, Cove, Coby, Rico, Jaleel, Aziah, Auden, Camari, Chayce, Saleh, Duane, Jamil, Haider, Kolbe, Lucah, Melo, Rakan, Arya, Ciro, Jakub, Opie, Gohan, Wali, Ojas

9 via 54

The letters in the following baby names add up to 54, which reduces to nine (5+4=9).

Girl names (9 via 54)Boy names (9 via 54)
Elliana, Bailey, Alayna, Alivia, Regina, Marlee, Carmen, Ariya, Zahra, Margo, Melina, Karina, Love, Milena, Keyla, Hadleigh, Zola, Mazie, Melani, Gianni, Zarah, Siya, Lori, Keidy, Sofie, Geneva, Elly, Sheila, Jessa, Tamara, Brenna, Zari, Maura, Bowie, Kaori, Arayah, Emmalee, Inez, Devin, Alyana, Maleni, Elisha, Kamaria, Joann, Kaley, Carrie, Aithana, Malinda, Raiya, Syeda, Nikki, Kolbie, Kiyah, Layana, Runa, JadynMateo, Gabriel, Kairo, Angelo, Gideon, Gianni, Devin, Rocco, Izaiah, Musa, Harlan, Elisha, Jrue, Lyle, Bowie, Jaxen, Eason, Dovid, Ayman, Henri, Azlan, Bailey, Axell, Keoni, Shaya, Hardin, Valen, Camren, Hazen, Lenin, Iver, Diesel, Kainen, Salim, Azir, Lior, Banner, Jadyn, Amaru, Arlin, Keion, Khaleel, Rider, Aeson, Sayed

9 via 63

The letters in the following baby names add up to 63, which reduces to nine (6+3=9).

Girl names (9 via 63)Boy names (9 via 63)
Madeline, Brielle, Olive, Noelle, Miriam, Angelina, Hattie, Fernanda, Zariah, Paris, Beatrice, Reyna, Johanna, Rayne, Meilani, Luella, Kailey, Korra, Kaylie, Imogen, Maizie, Ireland, Kamille, Keeley, Lakyn, Divine, Odessa, Tess, Carleigh, Janyla, Navya, Kyrah, Aliyana, Nyx, Vanya, Asiyah, Goldy, Melodie, Aster, Anissa, Emeline, Landrie, Leylah, Sandy, Atley, Aziza, ElloraMatias, Emilio, Leonel, Saint, Jaziel, Kylo, Nehemiah, Kylan, Otis, Caspian, Gatlin, Azrael, Bridger, Roger, Kaiser, Jones, Rishi, Coleman, Bentlee, Anson, Carmine, Macklin, Zealand, Ranger, Deangelo, Ismail, Shaun, Santi, Chevy, Jhett, Divine, Yohan, Avyan, Amauri, Keller, Mikhail, Reyan, Jeyden, Naftali, Domenic, Nicolai, Konrad, Rayne, Deonte, Paris, Jaylan, Jaidyn, Nikhil, Tyr, Kellin, Mahlon, Kavon, Romel, Mikey

9 via 72

The letters in the following baby names add up to 72, which reduces to nine (7+2=9).

Girl names (9 via 72)Boy names (9 via 72)
Sophie, Aubrey, Valerie, River, Magnolia, Everlee, Holly, Lorelai, Itzel, Jayleen, Mikayla, Charley, Savanna, Jaylani, Lilianna, Judith, Ryann, Soleil, Kynlee, Emmaline, Betty, Jaylene, Kaylin, Mercedes, Karely, Silvia, Kailyn, Cooper, Kenley, Chevelle, Zylah, Saphira, Blakeleigh, Ashanti, Laikyn, Blythe, Izabelle, Rainey, Theadora, Hosanna, Elyanna, Kylani, Karley, Loralei, Maisey, ZemiraCooper, River, Tanner, Kylian, Darius, Mohammed, Rocky, Jordy, Yasir, Tylan, Khyree, Canyon, Dwayne, Aubrey, Phineas, Kamron, Irvin, Charley, Hendrick, Jahaziel, Pranav, Casimir, Lucky, Reyes, Deshaun, Clement, Broly, Markell, Brendon, Masyn, Kavion, Syair, Elimelech, Cashmere, Rony

9 via 81

The letters in the following baby names add up to 81, which reduces to nine (8+1=9).

Girl names (9 via 81)Boy names (9 via 81)
Brynlee, Vanessa, Xiomara, Jennifer, Malaysia, Louise, Jenesis, Sariyah, Arlette, Yasmin, Aubriella, Tiffany, Lottie, Elisabeth, Ruthie, Jaelynn, Nathaly, Lavender, Venus, Tenley, Maisyn, Gitty, Karolina, Stori, Vivien, Hudson, Jaslyn, Kalliope, Beatriz, Destinee, Ivette, Taylin, Elisheva, Ramsey, Reilly, Ozzie, Arantza, Twyla, Novella, ElyssaOliver, Hudson, Nicholas, Lawrence, Samson, Jamison, Nikolas, Mustafa, Zavier, Rodney, Aurelio, Rogelio, Ernest, Kolter, Eliyahu, Orson, Ozzie, Ramsey, Jamarion, Dezmond, Kyzen, Taylin, Braylin, Conway, Eliott, Dayvon, Heston, Reilly, Selvin, Alastair, Marius, Jenesis, Timur, Davonte, Prynce, Tavion, Baltazar

9 via 90

The letters in the following baby names add up to 90, which reduces to nine (9+0=9).

Girl names (9 via 90)Boy names (9 via 90)
Autumn, Saylor, Leighton, Skyler, Evangelina, Anderson, Paxton, Bridgette, Honesti, Payson, KensleighTheodore, Sebastian, Matthew, Waylon, Maxwell, Paxton, Clayton, Anderson, Raymond, Westin, Skyler, Leighton, Curtis, Terrell, Aleksander, Reyansh, Atreyu, Gonzalo, Sulaiman, Marcelino, Saylor, Romello, Yonatan, Olivier, Alphonse

9 via 99

The letters in the following baby names add up to 99, which reduces to nine (9+9=18; 1+8=9).

Girl names (9 via 99)Boy names (9 via 99)
Emersyn, Gracelynn, Priscilla, Yoselin, Jupiter, Verity, Yitty, Stormie, Grayson, Presleigh, Swayze, CerenityGrayson, Cristobal, Kassius, Rockwell, Jupiter, Stuart, Jeronimo, Kingsten, Whitten

9 via 108

The letters in the following baby names add up to 108, which reduces to nine (1+0+8=9).

Girl names (9 via 108)Boy names (9 via 108)
Journey, Roselyn, Emberlynn, Violette, Kollyns, Rylynn, Jacquelyn, Gwenivere, Scotlyn, Yatziri, EllingtonAlessandro, Vincenzo, Cristiano, Journey, Fitzgerald, Truitt

9 via 117

The letters in the following baby names add up to 117, which reduces to nine (1+1+7=9).

Girl names (9 via 117)Boy names (9 via 117)
Novalynn, Marguerite, Quinnley, Augustine, RoslynnAugustine, Yitzchok, Treyton, Maximillian, Trystan, Stockton

9 via 126

The letters in the following baby names add up to 126, which reduces to nine (1+2+6=9).

Girl names (9 via 126)Boy names (9 via 126)
Brooklynn, Quinlynn, Tennyson, Quinnlyn, StellaroseTennyson, Dionysus, Marvelous, Artavious, Atharvreddy

Number 9: Significance and associations

What does the number nine mean in numerology?

There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number nine. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 9 being described as “humanitarian,” “tolerant,” “helpful,” “determined,” and “compassionate.”

We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 9:

  • Pregnancy (9 months long)
  • Baseball (9 players on the field; 9 innings)
  • K-9 (“canine”) police dog units
  • “Cloud nine” (expression)
  • “Nine lives” of a cat (expression)
  • “To the nines” (expression)
  • “The whole nine yards” (expression)

What does the number 9 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?

P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.

Sources: SSA, Numerology – Cafe Astrology, The meaning of the numbers 1 – 9 – World Numerology, 9 – Wikipedia

[Latest update: Jan. 2024]

Where did the baby name Jemal come from in 1968?

Jemal David, character from TV show "The Outcasts"
Jemal David of “The Outcasts”

The name Jemal debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1968:

  • 1972: 24 baby boys named Jemal
  • 1971: 30 baby boys named Jemal
  • 1970: 52 baby boys named Jemal
  • 1969: 204 baby boys named Jemal [rank: 549th]
  • 1968: 47 baby boys named Jemal [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

In fact, it was the top debut name of 1968. The next year, it became one of the highest-charting single-appearance baby names in the U.S. top 1,000 — the very highest for boys, if you ignore the glitch-name Christop.

So what was the influence?

Jemal David, an African-American character played by actor Otis Young on the single-season TV western The Outcasts (1968-1969).

The series was set in the decade following the Civil War, when “people of all creeds and colors were part of the West” (according to the narrated introduction). The two protagonists, both bounty hunters, were an unlikely pair: Jemal, an ex-slave freed by the Proclamation, and Earl Corey, a former slave owner from Virginia.

Young’s Jemal David was possibly television’s angriest African American protagonist; a defiant man who refused to forget the indignities and humiliations of slavery. He also never let his partner’s racism go unchallenged.

There was even an episode called “My name is Jemal” that drew extra attention to the name:

my name is jemal, the outsiders, television, 1960s

The similar name Jamal also saw a big boost in usage thanks to the character. But, unlike Jemal, which quickly petered out, Jamal’s usage continued to increase for several decades.

What are your thoughts on the name Jemal? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources:

  • Bogle, Donald. Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.
  • The Outcasts (TV series) – Wikipedia
  • Terrace, Vincent. Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2014.