The baby name Odette stepped off the stage and into the US Top 1000 in 2025.
Thanks to Nessa for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME ODETTE MEAN?
The Germanic Odo is lost to history. But Otis and Otto, Ottoline and Ottilie all remain in use.
All of the Ot- names mean wealth or prosperity. That probably means material success, but we can think of it more broadly as good fortune.
Variations abound. Odetta, Oda, and Odila have all been heard for girls.
Odette likely comes from a medieval saint, Odilia of Alsace. She’s also known as Odile. The -ette ending was a familiar way to create a diminutive in French. Think Juliette and Suzette.
This family of names has fallen out of favor and experienced periodic revivals over the last few centuries. English speakers don’t all agree on the best forms. American favor Otto; in the United Kingdom, Otis is more popular.
Some choices, like Ottilie are easier to pronounce with a British accent.
As for Odette? The name’s graceful sound hint at the most famous use of the name.
SWAN LAKE
Ballet blends grace, creativity, and significant strength.
Despite Odette’s French origins, it became famous thanks to the Russian composer Tchaikovsky. He used both Odette and Odile for character in his enduring ballet, Swan Lake. Based on Russian folk tales, the story tells of a virtuous, white-featured swan, and her evil, dark-feather alter ego. Odile is the dark swan. Odette? She’s the virtuous princess.
The ballet has been performed consistently, all across the world, ever since its 1877 debut.
The preschool set got their version of the tale with the animated version, The Swan Princess, back in 1994.
In the 1994 version, Princess Odette is kidnapped by someone intent on stealing her kingdom. She’s rescued by a prince, working with a frog, a turtle, and a puffin. While the movie fell flat at the box office, it’s had a long life on home video.
Then came 2010’s Black Swan, earning Natalie Portman a Best Actress Oscar for her role as a prima ballerina caught up in the role of the white swan.
Credit Portman – and Mila Kunis, who played the ballerina dancing the role of Odile – for raising parents’ awareness of the possibilities from Swan Lake.
The ballet lends a sense of sophistication to this name.
But there’s more to the story.
FAMOUS FIGURES
Other bearers of the name include:
- Then there’s Odette de Crecy, the wife of Charles Swann in Marcel Proust’s novel Remembrance of Things Past. What better first name for Mrs. Swann? The story was published between 1913 and 1927.
- During the 1920s and 30s, Odette Siko competed in endurance and rally races. Her 4th-place finish at Le Mans in 1932 made her the highest-placing female driver in the event’s history.
- Odette Brailly Sansom worked as a nurse during World War II, then became a member of the French underground. Eventually betrayed and arrested, Sansom survived torture and a concentration camp. She would later testify against concentration camp guards in war crimes trials. Her life story became the movie Odette in 1950.
- Actress Odette Annable is known for television series like House; Supergirl; and Walker.
HIPSTER HYPE
In 2013, the now-defunct Fit Pregnancy article dubbed Odette a “hipster” baby name.
Hipster was a thing in the early 2000s. Fedoras and craft beer. Beards and bicycles and skinny jeans. Of course the names they chose would have to be distinctive, too.
Countless other publications picked up the idea of hipster baby names, and Odette was all over the media for 15 minutes, the poster child for the style.
But it makes sense. Odette’s balance of formal elegance and sort casual French insouciance seems particularly appealing, a beyond-the-mainstream option that would’ve been just right for parents who couldn’t stand to blend in.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME ODETTE?
The baby name Odette had a good run in France earlier in the 20th century.
But in the United States? Odette entered the US Top 1000 in 2005 at #883, but that followed years of obscurity.
The name debuted in the US data in 1894, the year six girls were named Odette. In the year 2000, 30 girls received the name. It gained steadily over the years, until the name appeared in the US data in May of 2026.
After so many decades as a rarity, Odette is now at its most popular ranking ever.
FUTURE FAVORITE
With potential nicknames Etty/Ettie, Lottie, and Letty, Odette offers some flexibility. The versatility of Odette is a bit of a surprise.
But mostly, this name is rich in European charm, exactly as-is: an elegant sound, combined with the cultural depth of Tchaikovsky and Proust; and a timeless quality to this name that has endured across the years.
Odette makes a great first or middle name option, blending an appealing sound with the upbeat initial O.
With French girls’ names like Colette trending, Odette just plain fits.
What do you think of the baby name Odette?
This post was originally published on December 23, 2008. It was substantially revised and re-posted on October 6, 2014 and again on May 11, 2026.
Came across this post because my almost-7-yo daughter, ODETTE ❤, asked me to look up how many other people have her name (as did her non-identical twin sister, Estela). Odette is actually named for a French woman who, like the Odette who was the subject of the 1950 eponymous movie, was active in the French resistance (secretly fighting the Vichy fascist regime) during WWII. She was a wonderful human who taught me a lot… A lot like *our* Odette, who is a force in her own right and learning to love her (still pretty unusual) French name.
What a great story (+ role model) for your daughter! Thanks for sharing.
I want to like it, I love -et/ette names, but it almost seems like a word describing feminine body odour :/
I just love Odette! I had no idea she was so interesting. I think Odelia is beautiful and I’ve never heard it before, I think it’s going on my list! I know this is trendy, but I love O names. Odessa is my number 2 name right now, but I adore Odette, Ophelia, Opal, Olive and Olivia too. Olivia was my favorite before it got so popular, so I’d never use it now, but I think it’s probably my favorite popular name right now. Anyway, Odette is just perfect to me. Ill never get to use her because my first girl will be Lulette and that’s just too matchy for my liking… but if it weren’t for that I would use her in a heartbeat. As it stands though, I’ll probably use Odessa… but Odelia is a REALLY appealing option to me.. That could honor a Cordelia, couldn’t it?
Love, love, love Odette!
She has been on my list for a good while now.
Other “O” names that make the list are – Ophelia, Octatvia and Opal.
🙂
I think it’s pretty and I like the ballet connection. And not used much so that’s a plus.
Ah, I’m a sucker for the vowel names… and Odette is no exception. It is slightly more feminine with it’s ette ending, as Lola mentioned, which is a little lacy for me, but I still like it!
I want to like Odette, really I do. I adore the Od- (and Ot-) girls, all of them but Odette is one I can’t like enough to want to use myself. She’s a bit too light for me, I like my girls to have some heft to their names. I also generally like Opera names and by association, Ballet names.
Odette’s also got Etta nickname potential, which is another point in her favor. I should love Odette. Sadly, I do like her but not enough to consider her myself. She’d be stunning on some else’s kid, though! Odette’s neat. 🙂