The first name Otto

In 2025, 444 boys were named Otto, making it the 117th most popular boys’ name. It peaked in 2024, with 469 births (#113).

Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Otto with other names.

In 2025, 1,241 boys born in the United States were named Otto, the 277th most popular boys’ name that year. It was used most in 2024, when 1,244 were.

US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.

Spelled Otto in Danish, Estonian, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish too.

• Otto Hahn
  German chemist and physicist (1879–1968)
• Otto Stern
  German-American physicist (1888–1969)
• Otto Wallach
  German chemist (1847–1931)
• Otto Diels
  German chemist (1876–1954)
• Otto Lilienthal
  German aviation pioneer (1848-1896)
• Otto Skorzeny
  Austrian Waffen-SS officer (1908–1975)
• Otto Fritz Meyerhof
  German biochemist (1884-1951)
• Ernst Otto Fischer
  German chemist (1918–2007)
• Heinrich Otto Wieland
  German Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1877-1957)
• Otto Weininger
  Austrian philosopher and writer (1880-1903)
• Otto Sander
  German film, theater, and voice actor (1941–2013)
• Otto Wagner
  Austrian architect (1841-1918)

• Frederick
• Friedrich
• Hans
• Wilhelm
• Heinrich
• Ludwig
• Hermann
• Leonard
• Wolfgang
• Kurt
• Fritz
• Leopold
• Gunther
• Dirk
• Manfred
• Bernd

All 62 names of German origin

What does the name Otto mean?

Otto means “wealth”, “riches” in German.

What is the origin of the name 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.).

How popular is the name Otto?

In 2025, 444 boys born in England and Wales were named Otto, ranking 117th. Its peak was 2024, with 469 births.

Is Otto a boy's or a girl's name?

Mostly a boy's name: 100% of the 40,015 US babies named Otto since 1880 were boys.

When was Otto most popular?

2024 in the United States, when 1,244 babies were named Otto, its highest rank at 274th.

How do you pronounce Otto?

Otto is /ˈɑtoʊ/, 2 syllables.

Is Otto also a surname?

Yes. Otto is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.