Otto
Otto was the 277th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,241 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 63rd; the most babies were born in 2024 (1,244). Over the last ten years it has moved up 267 places. More babies were named Otto in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning wealth, prosperity · German
Say it AH-toh /ˈɑtoʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #277 boys, up 112 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,241boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20241,244 babies
- Total since 1880
- 40,015babies recorded
What does the name Otto mean?
Otto is a German name, originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with aud-, "wealth, riches" (as in Ottokar). DMNES gives Old High German ōt, "wealth", and lists four Holy Roman Emperors and several saints of the name; it notes Odo as the more common French form. Harrison (1918) also glosses it "prosperity, wealth". The same element is the Ed- of English Edward and Edith.
ōt (Old High German, “wealth, riches”)*audaz (Proto-Germanic, “wealth”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Odo, Otis, Otho.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Otto', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Otto', DMNES, Durham University
- Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. 2 (1918), s.v. 'OTTO', Morland Press (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Otto', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Otto popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 100 since 1891.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #277 | 1,241 |
| 2020 | #389 | 792 |
| 2010 | #1,079 | 180 |
| 2000 | #1,796 | 61 |
| 1990 | #1,302 | 73 |
| 1980 | #1,285 | 53 |
| 1970 | #843 | 92 |
| 1960 | #661 | 141 |
| 1950 | #552 | 150 |
| 1940 | #382 | 227 |
| 1930 | #268 | 438 |
| 1920 | #206 | 634 |
| 1910 | #155 | 200 |
| 1900 | #115 | 199 |
| 1890 | #68 | 267 |
| 1880 | #63 | 271 |
How popular is Otto, counting every spelling?
Otto is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #289 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #277 for Otto on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,241 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otto | 1,241 | #277 | 5,735 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Otto?
1,241 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Otto (0.34 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Otto born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 7 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Otto.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Otto?
About 17,000 people born in the US named Otto are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 4 and 37. That makes Otto a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Otto by state
How common Otto was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Dakota (6.1×), Minnesota (4.4×), South Dakota (4.3×), Montana (3.8×), Wisconsin (3.4×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Otto: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Otto, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Otto
What does Otto mean?
Otto means “wealth, prosperity” (German origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Otto?
Otto was the 277th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,241 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 63rd; the most babies were born in 2024 (1,244). Over the last ten years it has moved up 267 places. More babies were named Otto in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Otto a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Otto in the US.
Where is Otto most popular?
In 2021–2025, Otto was most common in North Dakota (4.04 per 1,000 boys), followed by Minnesota and South Dakota.