The story behind Otto
Borrowed from German Otto, from Old High German, short form of compound names (such as Otachar, Ottokar) beginning with Proto-West Germanic *aud, from Proto-Germanic *audaz (“wealth, riches”) (cognate of English Ed- in Edgar, Edmund, Edward, Edith, etc.).
Other language forms and explanations (2)
Finnish entry
From German Otto, from names containing Old High German ōt (“wealth”).
Polish entry
Borrowed from German Otto. Doublet of Odo, Odon, and Otton.
Pronunciation
General-American: /ˈɑtoʊ/
Regional pronunciation variants
- Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɒtəʊ/
- Finnish: /ˈotːo/
- Finnish: [ˈo̞t̪ːo̞]
- Polish: /ˈɔt.tɔ/
Popularity
Otto ranked #277 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Otto
Oto
Borrowed from German Otto.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Ottó
From German Otto.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends Ó
- same syllable count
- similar length
Elmo
From an Italian contraction of Erasmo, cognate with Erasmus. Also a German short form of Elmar. * By folk etymology seen as a short form of Elmer. From German Elmo, vernacular…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Enzo
Borrowed from Italian Enzo (equivalent to English Hank), from German Heinz, a diminutive of Heinrich (English Henry), from Old High German Heimrih, Haimirich (heim (“home”) +…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Hugo
From Old French Hugo, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *hugi (“thought, mind, spirit”). From Swedish Hugo, probably from a short form of Old High German Hugubert (literally…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Ivo
Latinate form of a medieval name of Old French origin, from Proto-Germanic *īhwaz (“yew, bow”). Name of French and English saints. Cognate with modern French Yves.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Otto
Bo
Either borrowed from modern Danish Bo or Swedish Bo, or a spelling variant of the male given name Beau. From Old Norse Búi (“dweller, long-time resident”), originally a…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Guy
From Old French Gui, from a Frankish form of Proto-West Germanic *Widō (compare Old Dutch Wido), a short form of names beginning with the element *widu (“wood”), from…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends Y
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Kai
Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the…
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends I
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Otto
Ada
Short form of Germanic names beginning with adal (“noble”), such as Adelaide. Also Latinized form of Hebrew Adah. The programming language takes its name from Ada Lovelace. a…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Adel
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz. The female name is a rare variant of Adele. The surname is borrowed from German Adel. Variant of Adil, from Arabic عَادِل (ʕādil).
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends L
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Anne
From French Anne (“Ann”), from Late Latin Anna chiefly in reference to St Anne the apocryphal mother of Mary mother of Jesus but appearing in the Vulgate in reference to Anna…
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection