Otto is a masculine German given name and a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. It originates as an

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old Hig ...

short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded from the 7th century ( Odo, son of Uro, courtier of

Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian ''roi fainéant'' —do-nothing king—, in effect the mayor of the palace ruling the kingdom througho ...

). It was the name of three 10th-century German kings, the first of whom was Otto I the Great, the first

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, founder of the Ottonian dynasty. The Gothic form of the prefix was ''auda-'' (as in e.g. '' Audaþius''), the Anglo-Saxon form was ''ead-'' (as in e.g. ''

Eadmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

''), and the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

form was '' auð-''. The given name

Otis Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

arose from an English surname, which was in turn derived from ''Ode'', a variant form of ''Odo, Otto''. Due to

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

, the given name ''Otto'' was strongly associated with the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in the later 19th century. It was comparatively frequently given in the United States (presumably in

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

families) during the 1880s to 1890s, remaining in the top 100 most popular masculine given names in the US throughout 1880–1898, but its popularity decreased significantly after 1900 with increasing anti-German sentiment leading up to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

; it fell below rank 200 in 1919, below rank 500 in 1947, and below rank 1000 in 1975; it re-entered the top-1000 most popular given names in the US only in the 2010s, ranking 696th as of 2013.US statistics (behindthename.com)

People called Otto

Medieval

* Otto (mayor of the palace) (died 643 or 644), mayor of the palace of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the ...

briefly in the mid-7th century *

Otto I, Duke of Saxony Otto ( – 30 November 912), called the Illustrious (german: Otto der Erlauchte) by later authors, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Saxony from 880 to his death. Family Otto was a younger son of the Saxon count Liudolf (d. 866), ...

(851–912) * the Ottonian dynasty **

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

(912–973) **

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...

(955–983) **

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

(980–1002) *

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 11 ...

(1175/1176–1218) *

Otto of Bamberg Otto of Bamberg (1060 or 1061 – 30 June 1139) was a German missionary and papal legate who converted much of medieval Pomerania to Christianity. He was the bishop of Bamberg from 1102 until his death. He was canonized in 1189. Early life T ...

(1060/1061–1139), bishop and Catholic saint *

Otto of Freising Otto of Freising ( la, Otto Frisingensis; c. 1114 – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carries valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was Otto I ...

(c. 1114–1158), bishop and chronicler

Modern

Otto of Greece Otto (, ; 1 June 181526 July 1867) was a Bavarian prince who ruled as King of Greece from the establishment of the monarchy on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed on 23 October 1862. The second son of King Ludw ...

(1815–1867), King of Greece * Otto Barić (1933–2020), Croatian footballer and manager * Otto, King of Bavaria (1848–1916), King of Bavaria * Otto Adler, president of the Jewish Association of Romania * Otto T. Bannard (1854–1929), American attorney, businessman and philanthropist *

Otto Carius Otto Carius (27 May 1922 – 24 January 2015) was a German tank commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He fought on the Eastern Front in 1943 and 1944 and on the Western Front in 1945. Carius is considered a " panzer ace", some sourc ...

(1922–2015), German tank ace and pharmacist *

Otto Diels Otto Paul Hermann Diels (; 23 January 1876 – 7 March 1954) was a German chemist. His most notable work was done with Kurt Alder on the Diels–Alder reaction, a method for diene synthesis. The pair was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistr ...

(1876–1954), German chemist * Otto Dix (1891–1969), German painter and printmaker * Otto Dowling (1881–1946), 25th

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Sinc ...

* Otto Farrant, British actor * Otto Fischer (footballer) (1901–1941), Austrian (soccer) football player and coach *

Otto Förschner Otto Förschner (4 November 1902 – 28 May 1946) was a German SS commander and a Nazi concentration camp official. He served as commandant of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp and the Kaufering concentration camp in the Dachau camp syst ...

(1902–1946), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant; executed for war crimes * Otto Frank (1889–1980), German-born Swiss business man, father of

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

* Otto Freundlich (1878–1943), German painter and sculptor * Otto Graham (1921–2003), professional American football and basketball player * Otto Graf Lambsdorff (1926–2009), German politician *

Otto Grotewohl Otto Emil Franz Grotewohl (; 11 March 1894 – 21 September 1964) was a German politician who served as the first prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) from its foundation in October 1949 until his death in Septembe ...

(1894–1964), East German politician * Otto Hahn (1879–1968), German chemist * Otto Herschmann (1877–1942), Austrian Olympic fencing and swimming medalist *

Otto Knows Otto Jettman, better known by his stage name Otto Knows, (born 6 May 1989) is a Swedish DJ, record producer and remixer who has had a number of hits in Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands and has collaborated with artists including Britney Spears ...

(born 1989), Swedish DJ * Otto Klemperer (1885–1973), German-born conductor and composer *

Otto Kraushaar Otto Frederick Krausharr (November 19, 1901 – September 23, 1989) was an American professor of philosophy who served as the 6th president of Goucher College. Kraushaar was also a professor at Smith College for 15 years. Early life and education ...

(1901–1989), American academic * Otto Kretschmer (1912–1998), German World War II U-boat captain * Otto Lietchen (1887–1977), American politician *

Otto Lilienthal Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...

(1848–1896), German aviator * Otto Ludvig Beckman (1856–1909), Swedish Coastal Artillery major general *

Otto Lybeck Admiral Otto Emil Lybeck (19 February 1871 – 21 April 1947) was a Swedish Navy officer. Lybeck's senior commands include Minister of Defence, Chief of the Coastal Fleet and Chief of the Naval Staff. Early life Lybeck was born on 19 February 1 ...

(1871–1947), Swedish Navy admiral *

Otto Mahler Otto Mahler (18 June 1873 – 6 February 1895) was a Bohemian-Austrian musician and composer who died by suicide at the age of 21. The twelfth child of Bernard and Marie Mahler, Otto was born in Jihlava and resembled his elder brother Gustav Mah ...

(1873–1895), Bohemian-Austrian composer, brother of Gustav *

Otto Moll Otto Hermann Wilhelm Moll (4 March 1915 – 28 May 1946) was an SS non-commissioned officer who committed numerous atrocities at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Second World War. The ''SS-Hauptscharführer'', who held the rank of Qua ...

, (1915–1946), German SS-Hauptscharführer at Auschwitz concentration camp; executed for war crimes *

Otto Ohlendorf Otto Ohlendorf (; 4 February 1907 – 7 June 1951) was a German SS functionary and Holocaust perpetrator during the Nazi era. An economist by education, he was head of the (SD) Inland, responsible for intelligence and security within Germ ...

(1907–1951), German SS general and Holocaust perpetrator; executed for war crimes * Otto Peterson (1960–2014), American comedian ( Otto & George ventriloquism act) * Otto Porter (born 1993), American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards, NBA *

Otto Planetta Otto Planetta (2 August 1899 – 31 July 1934) was an Austrian National Socialist who assassinated the Chancellor of Austria, Engelbert Dollfuß, in 1934. Biography Planetta was born into a Catholic family in Wischau, Austria-Hungary (now Vy ...

(1899–1934), Austrian Nazi Waffen-SS who murdered Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss * Otto Plath (1885–1940), father of American poet Sylvia Plath, and entomologist *

Otto Pohla Otto Pohla (20 March 1899 – July 1941) was an Estonian wrestler. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He was killed during World War II when the ship he was on was sunk by German submarines. ...

(1899–1941), Estonian wrestler *

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

(1905–1986), Austro–Hungarian-born American film director * Otto Rehhagel (born 1938), German football coach * Otto Sigfrid Reuter (1876–1945), German ''völkisch''-religious ideologue *

Otto Sauter-Sarto Otto Sauter-Sarto (29 April 1884 – 19 January 1958) was a German actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1920 and 1956. Selected filmography * '' Lumpaci the Vagabond'' (1922) * '' Katharina Knie'' (1929) * ''The Blue of Heaven'' (1932) * ...

(1884–1958), German actor * Otto Scheff (1889–1956), Austrian Olympic swimming champion *

Otto Schily Otto Georg Schily (born 20 July 1932) is a former Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany, his tenure was from 1998 to 2005, in the cabinet of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Earl ...

(born 1932), German politician * Otto Schmitt (field hockey) (born 1965), Argentine field hockey goalkeeper *

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including t ...

(1908–1975), Austrian-born

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

commando * Otto Sohn-Rethel (1877–1949), German painter and

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post- Renaissance, t ...

. * Otto Soglow (1900–1975), American cartoonist *

Otto Strandman Otto August Strandman ( – 5 February 1941) was an Estonian politician, who served as prime minister (1919) and State Elder of Estonia (1929–1931). He was one of the leaders of the centre-left Estonian Labour Party, that saw its biggest suppo ...

(1875–1941), Estonian politician, former Prime Minister *

Otto Tief Otto Tief ( – 5 March 1976) was an Estonian politician, military commander (during the Estonian War of Independence), and a lawyer. Tief was the acting prime minister of the last government of Estonia

(1889–1976), Estonian politician, military commander, lawyer, former Prime Minister *

Otto van Verschuer Otto Willem Arnold baron van Verschuer, lord of Mariënwaerdt, Echteld and Enspijk (22 July 1927 – 4 June 2014) was a Dutch politician. He served in the States of Gelderland between 1962 and 1978, while being part of the Executive of the same p ...

(1927–2014), Dutch politician * Otto Christian Archibald von Bismarck (1897–1975), German politician and diplomat *

(1815–1898), Prussian/German statesman *

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

(1912–2011), head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine from 1922 to 2007 *

Otto Waalkes Otto Gerhard Waalkes (born 22 July 1948) is a German comedian, actor, and musician. He became famous in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany with his shows, books and films. His best known trademark are the 'Ottifanten' ('Ottiphants'), elephant-like c ...

(born 1948), German comedian and actor * Otto Wagner (1841–1918), Austrian architect *

Otto Wahle Otto Wahle (5 November 1879 – 11 August 1963) was an Austrian-American swimmer who took part in two Summer Olympic Games and won a total of three medals. Wahle coached the men's US swim team at the 1912 Olympics, and the men's US water polo te ...

(1879–1963), Austrian-born American Olympic swimming medalist and Hall of Fame *

Otto F. Walter Otto F. Walter (5 June 1928 born as ''Otto Friedrich Walter'' – 24 September 1994) was a Swiss publisher ( Walter Verlag), author and novelist, which is well known in the German language countries. Otto Friedrich Walter was the younger brothe ...

(1928–1994), Swiss journalist, author and publisher * Otto Warmbier (1994–2017), American student imprisoned in North Korea * Otto Weininger (1880–1903), Christian Austrian philosopher * Otto Maximiliano Pereira de Cordeiro Ferreira (born 1968), Brazilian singer-songwriter, drummer and TV presenter * Otto Wichterle (1913–1998), Czech chemist, best known for his invention of modern soft

contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmeti ...

es *

Otto S. Wolfbeis Otto S. Wolfbeis (born 18 July 1947) was a professor of analytical chemistry and Interface chemistry at the University of Regensburg in Germany until his retirement in 2013. Biography Wolfbeis studied chemistry at the University of Graz (A ...

(born 1947), professor of

analytical chemistry Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

and interface chemistry at the University of Regensburg *

Otto Hindrich Otto Hindrich (born 5 August 2002) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Kisvárda, on loan from Liga I club CFR Cluj. Career statistics Club Honours CFR Cluj * Liga I ...

(2002-), Romanian Footballer

Fictional entities

* Otto Delaney, a character in the drama ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ...

'' on the American TV network FX, played by series creator Kurt Sutter *

Herr Otto Flick Herr may refer to: * Herr (honorific), a German honorific * Herr (surname) * Herr (title), a German title * Herr, Indiana, an unincorporated town in Perry Township, Boone County, Indiana, US * Herr's Snacks, a Pennsylvania-based snack fo ...

, a character in the BBC sitcom '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' * Otto Hightower, Hand of the King to Viserys Targaryen in HBO series

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second TV show in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' franchi ...

* Otto Maddox, the main character in the 1984 film '' Repo Man'' *

Otto Malpense ''H.I.V.E.'' (short for ''Higher Institute of Villainous Education'') is a series of young adult fiction novels by Mark Walden. Plot overview H.I.V.E., the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, is a top-secret school hidden inside an activ ...

, the main character in the ''H.I.V.E.'' series by Mark Walden *

Otto Mann The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

, character on the animated TV series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' * Otto Octavius, fictional Marvel Comics supervillain otherwise known as Doctor Octopus. One of

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

's nemeses * Jake, Jeremiah, and Troy Otto, character on ''Fear the Walking Dead'', Season 3 * Oswald "Otto" Rocket, the main character of Nickelodeon's ''

Rocket Power ''Rocket Power'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, the creators of '' Rugrats''. The series aired on Nickelodeon from August 16, 1999 to July 30, 2004. Premise ''Rocket Power'' revolves aroun ...

'' * Otto Osworth, the main character of Cartoon Network's '' Time Squad'' * Otto Suwen, a character in the anime/manga series '' Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World'' * Otto, the inflatable "auto" pilot in the 1980 comedy film '' Airplane!'' * Otto West, the main antagonist in the 1988 heist comedy ''

A Fish Called Wanda ''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double- ...

'' * Otto, one of the main Minions in the 2022 computer-animated comedy film '' Minions: The Rise of Gru'' * Ottoriki, one of the main characters in American animated children's television series

GoGoRiki ''Kikoriki'', known in the United States as ''GoGoRiki'' or ''BalloonToons'' and in Russia as ''Smeshariki'' (russian: Смешарики), is a Russian animated television series consisting of 307 episodes of 6 minutes and 30 seconds each, aime ...

Animals

Otto (dog) This is a list of the oldest verified dogs in the world, listed by age, all of whom have attained the minimum age of 20. Aging in dogs depends on breed, size and diet. Longest living dogs verified by age See also * List of oldest cats * List ...

(1989–2010), world's oldest dog * '' Otocinclus'', Sucking catfish, often known as 'Otto'

References

External links

AUDName List: Auð-
(nordicnames.de) {{Given name Danish masculine given names Dutch masculine given names English masculine given names Estonian masculine given names Finnish masculine given names German masculine given names Icelandic masculine given names Masculine given names Norwegian masculine given names Swedish masculine given names