Otha Williams
There are approximately 14 people named Otha Williams living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 24,482,453 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Otha with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Williams. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
14
1 in 24,482,453
Named Otha
2.7K
Alive today
Named Williams
1.8M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 2.7K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1921
Average age: 68
Top Census group: Black or African American (69.5%)
Estimated bearers: 1.8M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #3
Per 100K: 522.38
Top ancestry: Black (46.2%)
First name trend
Otha: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Otha. The peak year was 1921 with 180 births. The average person named Otha today is 68 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Otha
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Otha, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is Black or African American at 69.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Otha described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Otha at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American69.5% · 1,554
- White26.6% · 595
- Two or more races2.7% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.0% · 1
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Williams surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Williams, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 46.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Williams described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Williams at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American46.2% · 721,683
- White43.8% · 684,271
- Two or more races5.1% · 79,393
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 54,634
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 12,205
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 9,209
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Otha has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0008% of the US population, based on 2,714 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Otha right now.
The surname Williams appears at a rate of 522.38 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.5224%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 14 people with the full name Otha Williams. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Otha
Related
Other people with the surname Williams
FAQ
Otha Williams: questions and answers
How many people are named Otha Williams?
We estimate approximately 14 people in the United States share the full name Otha Williams. That works out to about 1 in 24,482,453 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0008%) with the surname frequency (522.38 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Otha Williams?
We classify Otha Williams as "Very Rare". About 1 in 24,482,453 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Otha a male or female name?
Otha is predominantly unisex. Out of 7,789 total SSA registrations, 82.0% were male and 18.0% were female. See the full Otha profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Otha Williams?
See how many people are called Otha Williams on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.