Otto

[unluckycat]

I liked it four years ago but thought it was probably a soon to be popular name, like Arlo (which I have heard a fair amount with boys under five). Haven't met any Otto's though. Do you know any/many?

[TazfromTazmania]

There's an Otto in DD's year 3 class. We've also got one at home, of the dog variety

[MamaLazarou]

Otto is a great name.

[hearthattack]

I know an Otto, he's about 15 months old. Think it might be one of those to soon become super popular, and with all those names I wonder if they'll become super dated in 10 or 15 years.

The Otto I know is a lovely little boy, but prone to runny noses and frequently gets called Snotto though that's mainly by me.

[sanfairyanne]

lots but they are all dogs, not that it necessarily rules it out as a childs name

[PotteringAlong]

The only one I know is female, short for ottoline

[DansonslaCapucine]

I love Otto.

I had a Hungarian lecturer at uni called Otto - he was inspiring.

[aoife24]

Thoroughly Prussian, Von Bismark immediately springs to mind.

[RedToothBrush]

I think you were just a little early with the prediction of it becoming super popular.

I suspect it will be the alternative to Arlo pretty damn soon. -O ending are THE trend at present apparently. And Arlo just got killed for the middle classes by Towie/Footballer usage.

Dogs names for boys seem to generally be the big trend anyway.

[TempsPerdu]

I've loved Otto for a long time now (and Rufus - I suspect my taste does veer towards 'dog names'!) but I think RedToothBrush might be on to something. Names ending in -o are currently very trendy - here in my not especially trendy part of north London I've taught lots of little Theos, Leos and Milos, followed by a more recent wave of Arlos and Hugos, and I suspect Otto might be one of those names that are picked up next. It fits all the criteria - short, -o ending, jaunty, cheerful sound etc.

That said, I'm not sure Otto will peak in such a dramatic way as Arlo, as it has more of a negative image to work against - Arlo seems more obviously user-friendly because of the Arlo Guthrie connection, whereas to many Otto is still a hefty, sausage-guzzling German!

You might find this useful to look at popularity trends over time.

[villainousbroodmare]

An ex-BIL (who has a German mother and is very into the German side of his lineage) called his son Otto. I thought it was fine, if graceless, sort of like the sound your feet make when pulling them out of deep mud. All the Germans were and I guess they thought it very old-fashioned.

[Zakken]

Thing is, they're not "dogs' names"! It's just that the fashion for some years has been to give dogs human names. You rarely hear the traditional dog names nowadays - Fido, Rover, Patch, Spot etc.

Actually, now .... Fido .... hmmm

[LynetteScavo]

I love it. And names I love do have a tendency to become popular,but I've loved it for about 20 years.

I like it more than Arlo.

[sweetpeame]

First thought that springs to mind is Otto von Bismarck... My DH is German and thinks Otto is mega old fashioned and not in a good way so that has coloured it for me. Maybe it generally sounds better to English speaking ears. And no, I don't know any but it crops up here on mumsnet relatively frequently.

[indieblack]

Yep an Otto was throwing an impressive tantrum in the sandpit today (trendy S London park) so I reckon it's on its way.

[TempsPerdu]

Completely agree that Otto, Arlo, Rufus etc aren't really dogs' names as such Zakken, but that's the reaction they tend to get when they're mentioned on here. Personally I find it odd, as all the dogs I know are called things like Ben, Jack, Mia and Sophie, all of which are deemed by MN to be perfectly acceptable human names!

I also love Tabitha and Cleo for a girl, but apparently these are only suitable for cats. Interestingly, the actual list of top pet names contains hardly any that are described as such on here - even Cleo only makes it to #17 www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/sep/16/from-poppy-to-sherlock-the-uks-most-popular-pet-names-cats-dogs

[SycamoreMum]

Nice but...Simpsons sprung to my mind.

[unluckycat]

Thanks for the replies, they've been helpful :)

I guess I know very few doggy people so have never thought of it being a dogs name, but that's ok, I like Rufus too, and kitty and tabitha ;)

Yeah I've noticed the ending in o trend, which puts me off a bit, but with children that end in 'a' and 'ie' it seems the logical way to go. Hmm. Will add it to the maybe list.

[barbecue]

It has rapidly become more popular, but then so have quite a few other names. I know of two young Ottos.

[RedToothBrush]

the -o trend is a reaction against the -a and -ie trend! If you want different then those are the three to avoid for boys.

For girls its those plus -ia, -elle, -ella -ette and -etta (and variations of).

The in letters for starting names are E and A but its a little less pronounced for boys.

It sound like it rules out everything, but there is plenty out there still if you want to avoid the mega popular stuff (equally you might want to pick something on trend but a little different if you get what the trends are).

[itsnothingoriginal]

Otto is great - I know one who's about 10 years old and he's very cool! I would be surprised if it doesn't get more popular because it is different to all the 'cutesy' boys names around.

RedToothBrush has it spot on I think!

[mellicauli]

My grandfather was Otto Gustav Maximillian. Certainly not lacking in gravitas!

I know someone on here took the name for their cat before..but don't let that put you off..

[batfish]

I love both Otto and Arlo and in fact we have discussed both tonight but sadly hubby does not share my enthusiasm and therefore they have not been shortlisted in our house

[Wildpoppy]

i know one aged 5

[sanfairyanne]

metticauli that would be a fabulous name for a pet too!

[TheNewStatesman]

It's our cat's name. I wouldn't have thought of calling a child Otto. Oh, and there's that Monty Python story about King Otto and Queen Syllabub!