Otto: meaning “a wealthy man”, origin & popularity

Meaning & origin

What it means

One German interpretation is “a wealthy man.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is German.

How it developed

From German Otto, from Proto-West Germanic *aud, from Proto-Germanic *audaz (“wealth, riches”).

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

The name has historical associations with German royal and princely families.

Otto through the years

Babies since 1880: 40,015; 39,915 boys · 100 girls
Most popular year: 2024; 1,244 babies
2025: 1,241; #277 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20: +69%; Rising fast

Otto in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1880–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inMinnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Minnesota (69), Wisconsin (51), Colorado (49), Iowa (23), Oregon (24).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 1,241 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 277 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 68.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (114). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 14,718 as a first name in 2020; 21,938 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Otto’s family of names

In Estonian usage, Otto has a short form in OTT. In Polish usage, Otto shares an earlier linguistic root with Odon. Otto has a related form in Ottis.

Walk Otto’s family in the name graph

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Otto has relatives in 16 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.

Germanwhere Otto comes from · 53 names

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 67

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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And 7 more.

Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Όττοin another script · Greek

Across languages 15

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

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People named Otto

Characters named Otto: Otto Mann, Otto Octavius (2002-2007 Spider-Man film series character).

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Otto, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Visigothic · Royal

Sibling ideas

Names that share Otto’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Otto

A sister for Otto

Your shortlist

Otto

Meaning & origin

What it means

Where it comes from

How it developed

The story

Otto through the years

Where it’s given

By the numbers

Otto’s family of names

Around the world

Nicknames & forms 67

Spellings & scripts 1

Across languages 15

See also 6

People named Otto

Appears in

Similar names

Rodrigo

Heinrich

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Gaozrich

Muotrih

Helpric

Baldrih

Sibling ideas

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