So, (D)M has just told me she hates our proposed name for DC2.

Tell her you've changed your mind and DS will be called Fitzroy Dweezle (son of a rock singer).

That will give her something to moan about.

Otto is a lovely name, go for it.

Otto is a great name, ignore you folks

Love Otto. Go for it.

Once told DMIL we were considering "Reuben" and she reacted like I'd said "Hitler".... seriously! Even though she was advocating Ruby for a girl

Never shared a potetential baby name with anyone other than DH, a good friend with similar taste and MN since -that's why I love this baord so much!!

Just tell her she doesn't get a say in it. The end!

I always assume that my mum is going to hate whatever decision on anything I've ever made, so when it came to MY children's names, I told her once the decision was made and it was a done deal.

(I didn't even take her wedding dress shopping and just showed her my dress the night before the wedding, when I knew she daren't say anything negative about it! - but I'm sure that's a whole different issue!!)

Umpteen years ago my older sister was pregnant with the second grandchild and made the mistake of telling our DM some of the names she had in mind, including Bruno. Oh, the drama! Tears on the 'phone etc.

3 years ago I had the fifth grandchild and refused to discuss names at all, thanks to DM's ridiculous antics previously. She kept trying to winkle our ideas out of me and DH, and sounding me out with suggestions, including Bruno. Ha!

Otto is fine, it isn't daft, he isn't going to suffer. This is all silly drama because your mother is surprised, doesn't immediately like it and to a degree, probably wants to control your choice. You MUST pick something you and your DH truly like.

Imagine how your teeth will grind if you give in to the hand-wringing and in 15 years time when cousin Whoever is having a baby your mother says 'Otto's quite nice...'

But by not saying anything before the baby is born, means there's less worry during the pregnancy. That was my train of thought. You've less to get stressed about!

You cannot stop anyone saying negative things after your baby arrives, there will always be someone who doesn't care much for the name you choose.

Don't kid yourself that if you keep quiet about the name until the baby is born, that everyone will say nice things about it.

When my ds3 was born, my father's opening words to me (before even "congratulations"!) were: "can you change the name?" as though ds had been born with the name written on a label round his neck and we had not chosen it ourselves already!

Needlesstosay, I did not change the name. I don't think my parents like it to this day, but who cares? I love it and many children have told ds he has a "cool" name which is high praise indeed!

FWIW I like Otto and would use it myself.

But why feel the need to discuss it with anyone else but between you and your partner?? If I was asked (which I was with both my pregnancies) I just said 'oh we're still milling it over, and not sure what he/she will be called'. I was just very vague about it. And so I moved on to another topic not related to pregnancy/naming. It's easy to do and avoids you having to go down that awkward route of conversation when you're really not that sure what name you want to give your child.

Pregnancy is stressful enough for some women without worrying over people's opinions of names you're considering. Do yourselves a favour and keep schtum next time, honestly!! :)

'Actually tell her he's going to be called Gaylord Hubert and you wont waver.

then when you call him Otto it'll be a lovely name!'

My neice has a German name. No kids ask her if there is a German connection, because they don't see it like that. If adults ask her she just says "No, mum and dad just liked the name". I don't get why that would be a problem?

If you'd said Aldolf Lucifer Geronimo Skywalker, I could understand.

DSD's friend has a very Welsh name. The sort of name that only makes sense in Welsh IYSWIM. She is forever being asked about it, and gets sick of explaining it when she is in England. That's when I would see a problem, not over something simple like a bit German-y sounding name.

I think if you back down over something as personal and important as your baby's name your mum is going to think she's got a say in everything. If you do change your mind I would make it clear that it was yours and your DH's choice to, not hers. Pick a name you love!

Your baby your choice. Don't tell in future!

Actually tell her he's going to be called Gaylord Hubert and you wont waver.

then when you call him Otto it'll be a lovely name!

Don't change for her.

Sometimes an 'old man's/woman's' name can be lovely on a baby - my DD is Nancy and when she was born the only people I ever met with the name were over 70.

If you've no connection with Germany surely then the majority of people who meet Otto won't have preconceptions about the name!

I don't think it matters that the name isn't popular in Germany. If you live in the UK, then it matters what people here think, and they will assume a germanic connection with a name like Otto, and that might seem strange to people if you don't have that connection.

Using the surname "cooks" as an example, i don't think Caspar Cooks sounds ridiculous. Have you tried running the actual combination past a trusted friend?

"I also think that children are very accepting of names."

Not when I was growing up they weren't
[bitter]

"My step dad is Austrian and said Otto is an old man's name over there."

Yes, it is still a VERY unfashionable, old fashioned, comical name in Germany. I have just looked up the name on German naming forums (speak German myself) and it is really not liked much at all. So, whilst it IS a very German name, it is currently not a very highly regarded name in Germany.

There is also the famous comedian, Otto who has made several films named after him. In other words, it has very comical connotations to many.

There were 100 baby Ottos in 2010 according to the baby names app and it is steeply increasing in popularity. I quite like it myself, its nice to hear something a bit different and unusual.

it's your baby not your mum's!

(and she will have to get used to it anyway)

to me it doesn't have German connotations, but I do think it's Italian for 8

as for alternatives:-

Huxley?

My Mum had a hissy fit when I told her ds2 would be called Dylan if he was a boy. She thought it was terrible - way too new age/hippy/alternative

But Dylan he was and he couldn't have been anything else - he's 8 now and she loves the name - because it's him!

But yes, I wish we hadn't had the name conversation with her - she didn't like Matilda either, if he had been a girl!

TBH I don't like it, but that is by the by.

I always try to think what the nicknames will be when they grow up, And I think Otto will end up as either 'grotto' or 'oddo' in the school playground.

If it were me and I was head over heels in love with this name I'd put Otis in the birth certificate and bring him up as an Otto. He then has choice of switching, and the odd person who really can't get their head round the name can call him Otis.

I haven't read the whole thread but I like the name and as previous posters have said it is your choice.

I had the same problem with my mother and our choice of name for dd2 - Elspeth, Elsie for short . She really hated it however once Elsie arrived and she'd told a few of her cronies friends the name and got positive responses she came round. 7 years on I couldn't imagine her being called any thing else.

I've loved this name since I was a child but DH has vetoed it. The lack of German connections would worry me a bit. Being bullied at school over names would not so much. There is so much more diversity when it comes to names these days.