Odette

Odette is the good swan in Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, a role for which Natalie Portman won an Oscar ---and it would make a particularly sophisticated yet upbeat choice. In fact, it charted in the US charts in 2025 for the first time since 1905!

Also popular in Belgium where it ranked in the Top 100 in a recent year, Odette is a diminutive of Odilia or Oda, which are in turn relatives of Otto, meaning "wealthy". With the stylish appeal of Ottilie and the renewed interest in Otto itself, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that this one has made the charts.

The name first became publicized during World War II via the courageous French Resistance heroine Odette Brailly, who risked her life to supply information to the Allies. She was captured by the Germans, and wrote her story which was retold in an eponymous film.

Other Odettes include Odette de Crecy, the flamboyant wife of Charles Swann in Proust's A la Recherche du Temps Perdu, and the daughters of actor Mark Ruffalo and Sunrise Coigney, Nikki and Isaac Hanson, and Jared and Genevieve Padalecki.

Variant Odetta is associated with the folksinger who was one of the first to go by a single name.

Pronounced as AW-DEHT in French, O-deht and OH-deht might be heard elsewhere. Nicknames could include Odie, Etta, Dodie, and Dot.

Pronounced oh-DET.

As of October 2026, Odette ranked #883 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #843 in 1905, Nameberry popularity #38.