This is our number one name, we’re 99% set on it. What do you guys think?
We’re not from the US, so it not pronounced like “auto” for us, so we at least don’t have that worry.
My only hesitance is that our son will be mixed race, and neither of us have any [name_m]German[/name_m] heritage. Does it really matter?
I think [name_m]Otto[/name_m] is a very handsome name!! [name_u]Love[/name_u] it.
I like it and do not connect to any particular heritage. [name_m]Just[/name_m] curious how you pronounce it though? I’ve never heard any other way than like the animal otter with an -o
Yes that’s right, but in the UK we say “otter” and “otto” differently to how you do in the US. And our way of saying “o” does not sound the same as “au” at all. For example, in the US, cot and caught sound very similar to each other. In the UK they sound like very different words!
Here’s a comparison of the two accents:
USA:
UK (although this is spoken in a very exaggerated and slow way, but it gives an idea of how different the “Ot” sound is):
I find [name_m]Otto[/name_m] to be so handsome and wonderful! I think that if you don’t live in the US you’re safe to use it, lucky you!
I listened to the you tube clips. To be honest, they both sound like auto to me. If that doesn’t bother you, then go for it.
I love [name_m]Otto[/name_m]. It’s cool and funky, and absolutely deserves more use.
My cousin and his wife named their son [name_m]Otto[/name_m] (it’s our grandma’s maiden name). We’re in the US and we do not pronounce it like “auto”. It’s a great name, no matter where you are.
[name_m]Otto[/name_m] is handsome yet cool, I really like it. It was also the name of [name_f]Anne[/name_f] Franks amazing father.
I think it’s a really cool and versatile name. I haven’t heard it a lot and I really admire it. And I think it’s easy to spell and say in many languages so you’ve hit the nail on the head with this one!
Ps, there are many different dialects in the US so while some may prn [name_m]Otto[/name_m] as “auto” others prn it in variations such as “[name_m]Ah[/name_m]-toe” (which is more or less the way I say it)
Thank you! So we don’t think the lack of [name_m]German[/name_m] connection is an issue?
To be honest it’s been so difficult to find a name that we both like and isn’t used by somebody else that I think I’m beyond caring about that anyway.
[name_m]Otto[/name_m]:
I wouldn’t worry about the name’s original [name_m]German[/name_m] heritage. That is just too limiting in this global world we live in.
I like [name_m]Otto[/name_m]! I think it’s usable even in the US where it DOES sound like auto, but if that’s not an issue for you, even better!
As for the name’s [name_m]German[/name_m] origin, I think [name_m]Otto[/name_m] feels international enough that people won’t be shocked to learn you aren’t [name_m]German[/name_m] (even if some may assume it initially).
I think [name_m]Otto[/name_m] is a great choice! It doesn’t register as [name_m]German[/name_m] to me. My first association is still the Hawaiian boy from [name_m]Rocket[/name_m] [name_m]Power[/name_m], a show I watched when I was little. 
Being [name_m]German[/name_m], I think that in no way should your lack of [name_m]German[/name_m] heritage hold you back from using [name_m]Otto[/name_m], it’s a very sweet name (at least in English, in [name_m]German[/name_m] it’s still quite dated).
Being from the US, both ways sound like auto to me. The UK one just sounds like they stress the first part more, but I don’t think it’s a problem. I’d use the name here in the US. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an [name_m]Otto[/name_m] on any race, so I think you are fine.
[name_m]Otto[/name_m] is super handsome! My first association with [name_m]Otto[/name_m] was a novel set in Europe in the 1940s, and there was a Nazi named [name_m]Otto[/name_m] who was extremely violent and angry and bitter, and appeared, at the onset, to be extremely prejudiced against Jews. As the series of novels went on, it became apparent that he only had an ugly facade so no one in their right mind would suspect he was actually helping Jews (and Underground workers/Jewish sympathizers) escape the Nazi regime. I never got through the novels, though, and I’m still shaking off his ugly side (and sometimes have to remind myself that [name_m]Otto[/name_m]'s a good guy!), which is why I probably haven’t loved it more than I already do, but he’s super cute! I’ve been thinking about [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] [name_m]Otto[/name_m] myself lately. I would love to meet a little [name_m]Otto[/name_m] who can change my perspective of the name–it’s a great name.
I think the ancestry of the name should not preclude its use and I love the name [name_m]Otto[/name_m]!