Ottawa
/ˈɑtəwə/noun
Ottawa is spelled O-T-T-A-W-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 9.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, Ottawa means “A member of the Ottawa people” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of Ottawa is Ottawas.
How many letters and syllables are in Ottawa?
| Letters | 6: O-T-T-A-W-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.5 times per million words; the 7,338th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is Ottawa?
Ottawa appears 9.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,338th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce Ottawa?
- UK /ˈɒtəwə/
- US /ˈɑtəwə/
- US [ˈɑɾəwə]
Ottawa has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Ottawa.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Ottawa
- Ottawas plural
- Odawa
- Odaawaa
- Ottowa
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Ottawa mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A member of the Ottawa people.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ottawa in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a member of the Ottawa people:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | outaouais |
| German | Odawa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does Ottawa come from?
From Ojibwe odaawaa/ᐅᑡᐙ (“an Ottawa; a trader”), from Proto-Algonquian *atawewa (“to trade”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).