OTTO
The surname Otto is of Germanic origin and has been carried by families throughout Europe and beyond. Its roots can be traced to the Old High German word uod, meaning “wealth” or “prosperity”, and it once formed part of the personal name that was handed down within the Saxon royal families of Germany.
Historically, the name gained prominence through Otto the Great, who ruled as Holy Roman Emperor in the tenth century. Otto the Great’s reign cemented the name’s association with authority and abundance, and the personal name later evolved into a family surname in many German‑speaking regions.
In England, the surname – in variations such as Otto, Odo, Odda, and patronymics like Odson or Otheson – entered the record as early as 1066. The name is thought to have Scandinavian Viking origins, and it appears in several early church registers: Francis Otson was listed at St Botolphs without Aldgate in 1571, Elizabeth Otto at St Paul’s Westminster in 1697, and Fredreick Ottoson at St Mary‑le‑Bone on 7 November 1795.
Coat‑of‑arms are a notable feature of the surname’s heraldic tradition. At least fourteen distinct arms have been granted to families bearing the name Otto, most notably in Saxony, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, and France.
The surname remains common to this day. In Germany it ranks as the eleventh most frequent surname, representing about 0.16 % of the population, while in Austria it is the thirtieth most common, at roughly 0.09 %. In Switzerland it falls at the eighty‑fourth position, accounting for about 0.015 % of residents. Outside German‑speaking Europe, the name appears in the United Kingdom at a frequency of 0.011 % and in France at 0.0038 %. In the United States the surname is ranked 560th in commonness, and it has a noticeable presence in Latin American nations such as Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, where migration from Germany during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries led to more than twenty thousand bearers in Brazil alone.
Variations of the surname arise through phonetic shifts and regional spelling conventions. Common variants include Otho, Otha, Ohta, Oth, Oeth, Oete, Otte, and Ote. In addition, derivative surnames that share the same Germanic root are found in northern Europe, such as Oatly, Ochs, Ohana, Ohl, Ohlman, Oller, Otten, Ottinger, Ottey, and Ottley.
Typical given names associated with the Otto surname
Male
- Christian
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Kevin
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Ryan
- Stephen
Female
- Alison
- Amanda
- Catherine
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Jane
- Janet
- Joyce
- Julie
- Louise
- Lucy
- Maria
- Sarah
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Otto in...
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There are approximately 856 people named Otto in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,344th most common surname in Britain. Around 13 in a million people in Britain are named Otto.
Region of origin: Europe
Famous people named Otto
- Miranda Otto - Australian actress
- Ricky Otto - Football player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.