How popular is the baby name Otto in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Otto.

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Popularity of the baby name Otto


Posts that mention the name Otto

Top names for baby boys, letter by letter, in 2024

First letters of baby boy names in 2024 (U.S.)

The most common first letter for baby boy names last year was J (used 10.7% of the time), followed by A (10.5%) and L (7.5%).

The least common first letter was Q (used 0.1% of the time), followed by U (0.2%) and X (0.4%).

So, what were the most popular boy names of 2024 within each letter group?

Top boy names starting with A:

  1. Asher
  2. Alexander
  3. Anthony
  4. Aiden
  5. Angel

Top boy names starting with B:

  1. Benjamin
  2. Bennett
  3. Brooks
  4. Beau
  5. Bryson

Top boy names starting with C:

  1. Carter
  2. Caleb
  3. Cooper
  4. Charles
  5. Christopher

Top boy names starting with D:

  1. Daniel
  2. Dylan
  3. David
  4. Dominic
  5. Damian

Top boy names starting with E:

  1. Elijah
  2. Ezra
  3. Ethan
  4. Elias
  5. Ezekiel

Top boy names starting with F:

  1. Felix
  2. Finn
  3. Finley
  4. Francisco
  5. Fernando

Top boy names starting with G:

  1. Gabriel
  2. Grayson
  3. Gael
  4. Giovanni
  5. George

Top boy names starting with H:

  1. Henry
  2. Hudson
  3. Harrison
  4. Hunter
  5. Hayden

Top boy names starting with I:

  1. Isaac
  2. Isaiah
  3. Ian
  4. Ivan
  5. Ismael

Top boy names starting with J:

  1. James
  2. Jack
  3. John
  4. Julian
  5. Joseph

Top boy names starting with K:

  1. Kai
  2. Kayden
  3. Kingston
  4. Kevin
  5. Kaiden

Top boy names starting with L:

  1. Liam
  2. Lucas
  3. Levi
  4. Luca
  5. Leo

Top boy names starting with M:

  1. Mateo
  2. Michael
  3. Matthew
  4. Maverick
  5. Miles

(Mason, which ranked third in 2023, dropped to sixth last year.)

Top boy names starting with N:

  1. Noah
  2. Nathan
  3. Nolan
  4. Nicholas
  5. Nathaniel

Top boy names starting with O:

  1. Oliver
  2. Owen
  3. Oscar
  4. Omar
  5. Otto

Top boy names starting with P:

  1. Parker
  2. Peter
  3. Patrick
  4. Paul
  5. Phoenix

Top boy names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn
  2. Quincy
  3. Quentin
  4. Quinton
  5. Quintin

Top boy names starting with R:

  1. Roman
  2. Rowan
  3. Ryan
  4. Robert
  5. River

Top boy names starting with S:

  1. Sebastian
  2. Samuel
  3. Santiago
  4. Silas
  5. Sawyer

Top boy names starting with T:

  1. Theodore
  2. Thomas
  3. Thiago
  4. Theo
  5. Tyler

Top boy names starting with U:

  1. Uriel
  2. Uriah
  3. Ulises
  4. Umar
  5. Ulysses

Top boy names starting with V:

  1. Vincent
  2. Victor
  3. Valentino
  4. Vicente
  5. Vincenzo

Top boy names starting with W:

  1. William
  2. Wyatt
  3. Wesley
  4. Waylon
  5. Weston

Top boy names starting with X:

  1. Xavier
  2. Xander
  3. Xzavier
  4. Xavi
  5. Xyleek

(Xyleek debuted impressively in the data last year.)

Top boy names starting with Y:

  1. Yusuf
  2. Yosef
  3. Yahya
  4. Yehuda
  5. Yahir

Top boy names starting with Z:

  1. Zion
  2. Zachary
  3. Zayden
  4. Zayn
  5. Zyaire

Source: SSA

Popular baby names in Denmark, 2023

Flag of Denmark
Flag of Denmark

Last year, the Nordic country of Denmark welcomed 57,469 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Frida and Carl.

Here are Denmark’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Frida, 425 baby girls
  2. Luna, 412
  3. Ella, 410
  4. Alma, 409
  5. Emma, 402
  6. Sofia, 397
  7. Olivia, 395
  8. Agnes, 392
  9. Ida, 391
  10. Karla, 381
  11. Ellie, 380
  12. Clara, 379
  13. Freja, 343
  14. Nora, 331
  15. Lily, 326
  16. Alberte, 316 (tie)
  17. Esther, 316 (tie)
  18. Asta, 296
  19. Ellen, 284
  20. Anna, 282
  21. Aya, 246
  22. Isabella, 228
  23. Lærke, 213 – the Danish word for “lark” (the type of bird)
  24. Astrid, 212
  25. Saga, 210
  26. Hannah, 209
  27. Mathilde, 207
  28. Josefine, 205
  29. Laura, 203
  30. Vilma, 200
  31. Emily, 197 (tie)
  32. Liva, 197 (tie)
  33. Maja, 196
  34. Vera, 187
  35. Marie, 181
  36. Leonora, 178 (tie)
  37. Mille, 178 (tie)
  38. Andrea, 173
  39. Solveig, 166
  40. Molly, 164
  41. Victoria, 163
  42. Merle, 149
  43. Lea, 148
  44. Liv, 146
  45. Eva, 140 (tie)
  46. Ingrid, 140 (tie)
  47. Elina, 137 (tie)
  48. Rosa, 137 (tie)
  49. Gry, 130
  50. Sofie, 125

Boy names

  1. Carl, 477 baby boys
  2. William, 458
  3. Oscar, 452
  4. Alfred, 449 (tie)
  5. Noah, 449 (tie)
  6. Aksel, 441
  7. Emil, 430
  8. Oliver, 423
  9. Malthe, 403
  10. Valdemar, 392
  11. August, 377
  12. Elliot, 370
  13. Theo, 351
  14. Arthur, 346
  15. Lucas, 335
  16. Elias, 324
  17. Lauge, 323
  18. Otto, 319
  19. Hugo, 309
  20. Felix, 285
  21. Magnus, 279
  22. Viggo, 270
  23. Victor, 269
  24. Theodor, 257
  25. Loui, 255
  26. Holger, 249
  27. Anker, 245 (tie)
  28. Liam, 245 (tie)
  29. Anton, 243
  30. Matheo, 230
  31. Konrad, 227
  32. Erik, 214
  33. Pelle, 202
  34. Luca, 198
  35. Asger, 197
  36. Ebbe, 195
  37. Nohr, 194 (tie)
  38. Vincent, 194 (tie)
  39. Kalle, 190
  40. Adam, 181
  41. Johan, 173
  42. Frederik, 165 (tie)
  43. Storm, 165 (tie)
  44. Albert, 159
  45. Walter, 156
  46. Alexander, 154
  47. Christian, 151
  48. Villads, 146
  49. Leo, 142
  50. Marius, 138

The top names of 2022, Ella and William, are now in third place and second place, respectively.

The word-name Storm has ranked inside the boys’ top 50 since 2010. (In the U.S., Storm is given to both boys and girls, but has never come close to top-50 status for either gender.)

Sources: Baby names – Statistics Denmark, Births – Statistics Denmark

Image: Adapted from Flag of Denmark (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Sweden, 2023

Flag of Sweden
Flag of Sweden

Sweden tricked us, you guys.

Last year, Statistics Sweden ominously announced that it would “stop producing name statistics.”

It neglected to mention that the country’s baby name data would continue coming out every year — that the names were simply going to be handled by a different government agency (the Swedish Tax Agency) going forward.

I wanted to be annoyed about this deception, but my annoyance evaporated after I learned that the Swedish Tax Agency had released all of the country’s 2023 baby name data — meaning that we could finally check out Sweden’s rare and unique names (yay!).

So, without further ado, let’s take a look…

Sweden welcomed 100,051 babies in 2023. What were the most popular names among these babies? Vera and Noah.

Here are Sweden’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Vera, 608 baby girls
  2. Elsa, 603
  3. Alma, 597
  4. Selma, 538
  5. Alice, 512
  6. Signe, 494
  7. Ellie, 490
  8. Olivia, 488
  9. Astrid, 470
  10. Ella, 467
  11. Stella, 447
  12. Maja, 442
  13. Freja, 434
  14. Saga, 426
  15. Alva, 415
  16. Agnes, 392
  17. Ebba, 381
  18. Leah, 375
  19. Alba, 365
  20. Hedda, 362
  21. Iris, 344
  22. Wilma, 341
  23. Ines, 339
  24. Alicia, 335
  25. Mila, 332
  26. Luna, 304
  27. Lilly, 292
  28. Sigrid, 288
  29. Elvira, 286
  30. Leia, 280
  31. Juni, 274
  32. Julia, 258
  33. Hilma, 256
  34. Clara, 253
  35. Majken, 242 (tie)
  36. Molly, 242 (tie)
  37. Ellen, 241
  38. Ester, 238 (tie)
  39. Lykke, 238 (tie)
  40. Lily, 236
  41. Nora, 232
  42. Ingrid, 226
  43. Nova, 223
  44. Edith, 205
  45. Livia, 204
  46. Sally, 203
  47. Lea, 198
  48. Tyra, 194
  49. Liv, 193
  50. Esther, 192

Boy names

  1. Noah, 687 baby boys
  2. Hugo, 652
  3. William, 565
  4. Liam, 558
  5. Nils, 536
  6. Oliver, 517
  7. Elias, 516
  8. Adam, 507
  9. August, 506
  10. Sam, 504
  11. Alfred, 485
  12. Otto, 479
  13. Leo, 463
  14. Leon, 415
  15. Frans, 414
  16. Charlie, 388
  17. Olle, 372
  18. Theo, 366
  19. Harry, 362
  20. Arvid, 351
  21. Ludvig, 350
  22. Malte, 345
  23. Ebbe, 338 (tie)
  24. Lucas, 338 (tie)
  25. Tage, 330
  26. Elliot, 327
  27. Henry, 326
  28. Adrian, 322
  29. Gabriel, 319
  30. Elton, 318
  31. Ted, 317
  32. Walter, 314
  33. Vincent, 296
  34. Alexander, 294 (tie)
  35. Oscar, 294 (tie)
  36. Valter, 293
  37. Benjamin, 282
  38. Noel, 274 (tie)
  39. Theodor, 274 (tie)
  40. Jack, 268 (tie)
  41. Viggo, 268 (tie)
  42. Axel, 264
  43. Albin, 256
  44. Melker, 251
  45. Levi, 240
  46. Isak, 236
  47. Dante, 233
  48. Lukas, 230
  49. Matteo, 226
  50. Hjalmar, 225

The top names of 2022, Astrid and William, dropped to ninth place and third place, respectively.

The boys’ top 100 included Ture (53rd), Vidar (55th), Loke (71st), and Bill (97th).

The girls’ top 100 included Tuva (66th), Stina (75th), Lo (78th), and Eira (81st).

Farther down on the girls’ list I spotted Madicken, which was given to 15 babies last year. Swedish author Astrid Lindgren featured a fictional 7-year-old girl named Margareta “Madicken” Engström in several of her children’s books. (Lindgren had named the character after a childhood friend, Anne-Marie, whose nickname was Madicken.)

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a sampling of the more than 8,000 names that were bestowed just once in Sweden last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Älva, Bergþóra, Cyrine, Dahlina, Elfie, Frigga, Glittra, Holland, Iseline, Jinjin, Källa, Lavendel, Minélle, Neoliva, Ornina, Pommelinn, Qellie, Rauline, Sigunn, Thaïs, Undin, Virvla, Winta, Xanne, Yrja, ZtellaAsterix, Bornwell, Casbian, Delton, Ejnar, Frenne, Grimm, Hälge, Ingemund, Jingda, Kasjan, Lillebror, Mjalton, Nille, Öivind, Palomino, Qingfeng, Robiel, Skjómi, Toste, Uzeer, Villie, Williott, Xanto, Yosia, Zillas

Some definitions/associations for a few of the above:

  • Glittra means “to glitter” in Swedish.
  • Källa means “source” in Swedish. (Originally it referred to a source of water, such as a spring or a well.)
  • Lavendel means “lavender” in Swedish (and several other languages).
  • Lillebror means “little brother” in Swedish.
  • Mjalton refers to Mjältön, an island in Sweden.
  • Skjómi, an Old Norse word meaning “a flickering light,” was used metaphorically in Skaldic poetry to refer to a drawn sword.
  • Virvla means “to whirl” in Swedish. (The related noun virvel means “vortex.”)

Sources: Elsa och Noah populäraste namnen hos nyfödda – Skatteverket, Namn på nyfödda – Skatteverket, Population statistics – Statistics Sweden, Madicken (Mardie) – Astrid Lindgren, Wiktionary, skjómi – Lexicon Poeticum, skjómi – Old Norse Dictionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Sweden (public domain)

How did Uta Hagen get her name?

Actress and acting teacher Uta Hagen (1919-2004)
Uta Hagen

Tony-award winning actress and drama instructor Uta (pronounced OO-ta) Hagen was born to parents Oskar and Thyra Hagen of Göttingen, Germany, in June of 1919.

Uta’s father Oskar, an art historian, named her after the statue of Uta von Ballenstedt at Naumburg Cathedral.

The statue is one of a dozen life-size sculptures that depict individuals who helped establish the church during the 11th century. These “donor figures,” created during the 13th century, have since become well-known examples of early Gothic sculpture in Germany. The statue of Uta von Ballenstedt is thought to have influenced the Walt Disney animators who created the Evil Queen in Snow White, in fact.

Uta von Ballenstedt statue
Uta von Ballenstedt statue

In 1924, Uta Hagen’s family — which included an older brother named Holger — immigrated to the U.S and settled in Madison, Wisconsin. The following year, Oskar Hagen founded the University of Wisconsin’s Art History department.

The feminine name Uta is related to the masculine name Otto, which was originally a short form of Germanic compound names containing the element od/ot, meaning “prosperity, wealth.”

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Robeson Hagen Othello (public domain); adapted from Naumburger Dom 240 by Thomas Hummel under CC BY-SA 4.0.