Odessa
Taken from the Black Sea port, whose name was borrowed in the eighteenth century from Odessos, an ancient Greek colony on that coast.
Odessa in 2025
Odessa was given to 193 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,275th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 17,178 babies born.
The history of Odessa
Odessa reached its highest point in 1920, when 470 babies were given the name, ranking 555th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 421st, in 1908.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 18,718 babies have been named Odessa. Half of them were born before 1930, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Odessa by decade
| Decade | Babies named Odessa | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 204 | 639 |
| 1890s | 508 | 580 |
| 1900s | 1,188 | 421 |
| 1910s | 3,120 | 440 |
| 1920s | 4,180 | 555 |
| 1930s | 2,448 | 707 |
| 1940s | 1,713 | 858 |
| 1950s | 1,182 | 1,257 |
| 1960s | 683 | 1,850 |
| 1970s | 505 | 2,497 |
| 1980s | 439 | 2,732 |
| 1990s | 463 | 4,036 |
| 2000s | 544 | 4,476 |
| 2010s | 734 | 3,180 |
| 2020s | 807 | 2,275 |
Where Odessa is heading
Odessa has risen 157% over the past decade, from 75 babies in 2015 to 193 in 2025.
Names like Odessa
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Odessa.