Fun Facts About the Name Odesa
- 10 babies named Odesa: U.S. records list 10 babies given the name Odesa from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Odesa Mean?
Odesa is a variant spelling of the feminine given name Odessa, and its meaning is uncertain. The name is a place name: Одеса (Odesa) is the Ukrainian name of the Black Sea city, while Odessa is the older English form taken from Russian Одесса. The city name is usually traced to the ancient Greek colony Ὀδησσός (Odessos), near present-day Varna, Bulgaria, but the meaning of that ancient name is not known. A modern name-book tradition links Odessa to the Greek hero Odysseus, but that is a later association rather than a documented derivation of the city name. Odesa is therefore best described as a place-derived name with an uncertain etymology rather than a name with a fixed literal meaning.
Odesa Name History & Origins
Odesa is the Ukrainian transliteration of Одеса, the name of the port on the Black Sea. The city was founded in 1794 by the Russian Empire on the site of the Ottoman fortress of Khadjibey, and the name Odessa was adopted in 1795. The choice is commonly linked to the ancient Greek colony of Odessos, though that colony lay near modern Varna, not at Odesa. The older English form Odessa corresponds to the Russian spelling Одесса; Odesa follows the Ukrainian spelling and is the city's official transliteration.
As a girl's name, Odesa is a variant of Odessa, so its history is tied to the place name rather than to a separate ancient personal name.
How Popular is the Name Odesa?
Odesa has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1920. Its best rank was #5,567 in 1920.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | #16,973 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1920 | #5,567 | 5 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with O
Short Girl Names That Start with O
How the Name Odesa Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are patient, persevering and strong willed. You are a good student, absorbing knowledge easily and retaining it well. You are either a saint or a sinner. You tend to hold things inside and suffer in silence. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Odesa's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Odesa's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.