Poll: Should I name my kid 'Otto'

[schneemann]

I'm currently having a "spirited" discussion with my wife regarding potential names for our next child, which I hope will be a boy.

I've chosen "Otto" as the name I'd like. My wife steadfastly disagrees. What say you?


Reference and inspiration: Otto von Bismarck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Jaysus]

Does your last name start with the word "Von" or "Van"?

 

[the_bird]

I like it, but keep in mind your fallback position.

Middle name. Could work well. You'll see pretty soon whether the kidling is an "Otto" or not. What are the other first-name options?

 

[Evan!]

I say no. If you name him that, then he will be doomed to a life of being a big 6'8" tall, 300lb ogre with a shaved head. If you're named Otto, I believe there's a law that requires it.

 

[Revvy]

Otto Von Schneemann has a ring to it though.

Wasn't Colonel Klink's first name Otto?

 

[llazy_llama]

If he can't make it through German Chancellor or WW2 POW camp superintendent school, he can always be a busdriver!

 

[olllllo]

Otto... Otto Parts?




Lattice of Coincidence.

 

[shecky]

Depends. Are you a Syracuse fan? This is the only Otto I know.

 

[McKBrew]

I voted no.

Washington Times - Odd first names linked to criminality

 

[maltMonkey]

I think that naming your kid Otto is about as good of an idea as naming your kid based on the results of an internet poll

 

[The Pol]

Are you "OTTO" yo mind? No....

 

[schneemann]

I think that naming your kid Otto is about as good of an idea as naming your kid based on the results of an internet poll

Awesome! So you approve, then?

Thanks!

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I need a third option, i dont know if its a terrible idea but not the best option either.

 

[nealf]

Depends. Are you a Syracuse fan? This is the only Otto I know.

This is what I first thought of:

 

[carnevoodoo]

DO IT. (10 characters)

 

[Madman]

Is your last name Octavius?

 

[olllllo]

Why not ottttto?

 

[the_bird]

You could do "Atto."

Atto Attie's "14 Rounds With The Killer Blondes" is one of the best album to have ever sold fewer than eight copies worldwide.

 

[Blue_Water]

Instead of Otto, how about "M'fundo"?

That was my suggestion for our son, but we ended up with Nate instead.

 

[the_bird]

If you DO go with "Otto," I highly recommend "Bot" as a middle name.

 

[olllllo]

Otto E Rotic.

 

[sause]

Being one that works at a store that is named Otto's I think it's a great idea. Just to let your grandkid being like Otto's kid then it would be a bad idea.

 

[EvilTOJ]

I dunno, do you think he'll want to be a mechanic? If so then it's a great idea!

+1 on the middle name being "bot"

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Over The Top, 'Onestly!

 

[Zul'jin]

Otto Bot Bongsidlious Rex the Third

 

[HBHoss]

If you're naming him to honor a relative or someone you admire, then I say go for it. Otherwise, think about a kid in your elementary school named "Otto" when you were young.
Just a thought.

 

[Borisbbadd]

If you name him Otto, you better hope he he is the biggest, meanest kid in school...........

 

[TimSTi]

this came to my mind..

 

[Glubki]

The world's most notorious Otto...

 

[Bedlam]

I think it's a great name! We have a dog named Otto...a not-too-bright boxer...and the name suits him perfectly.

Oh, wait. That's probably not what you wanted to hear. Nevermind.

 

[menschmaschine]

Schneemann, I like your thinking (trying to give him a German first name?), but I'm not crazy about Otto. Not sure why because I like unusual names, but Otto has weird associations.

Have you seen this list of German masculine names? If I have a boy, I want to give him a German first name, but stay away from ones that are difficult to pronounce for Americans or have Nazi-connotations. So far the only one I that I really like is Kai. Plus Kaiser here on HBT is pretty cool, so that's a plus.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

All German names sound like they belong to Las Vegas tiger trainers to me.

 

[mmb]

The only Otto I know is a fairly big dude that golfs on a league I'm on.

if you both like the name then go for it. It's our responsibility as parents to screw up our kids just as badly as our parents screwed us up.

 

[schneemann]

Schneemann, I like your thinking (trying to give him a German first name?), but I'm not crazy about Otto. Not sure why because I like unusual names, but Otto has weird associations.

Have you seen this list of German masculine names? If I have a boy, I want to give him a German first name, but stay away from ones that are difficult to pronounce for Americans or have Nazi-connotations. So far the only one I that I really like is Kai. Plus Kaiser here on HBT is pretty cool, so that's a plus.

My real first name is a German name. It would be nice to have my son's name reflect his ancestry.
My ancestry is German, Dutch, and English (the latter two are german anyway, lol). My grandparents on my mother's side are immigrants. I am very proud of my heritage and also a very patriotic American.

My intent is to give him a name inspired by someone who did something great. Founding fathers of the US, influential philosophers, great leaders throughout history, that sort of thing.

My daughter's name is Alexandra, after Alexander the Great.

The problem is that some names have negative personal connotations, too.
Personally, I think James (after James Madison), Thomas (after Thomas Jefferson), Friederich (after Friederich Nietzsche), Arthur (after Arthur Schopenhaur), William (after William James), Patrick (after Patrick Henry) would all be great names. Problem is, all of them remind us of someone we personally hate.

Otto (after Otto Von Bismarck) is the first name I've come up with which is a) German, b) representative of a very important person, c) has no negative personal feelings attached to it.

 

[menschmaschine]

All German names sound like they belong to Las Vegas tiger trainers to me.

This from an Englishman.

I suppose he should name him Nigel. Yes... Nigel Saxe Coburg Gotha. Wait, some of that is German.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

This from an Englishman.

I suppose he should name him Nigel. Yes... Nigel Saxe Coburg Gotha. Wait, some of that is German.

I'm only making plans...For Nigel....

Edit: "Nigel" would get him beat up in the UK too though.

 

[HBHoss]

My real first name is a German name. It would be nice to have my son's name reflect his ancestry.
My ancestry is German, Dutch, and English (the latter two are german anyway, lol). My grandparents on my mother's side are immigrants. I am very proud of my heritage and also a very patriotic American.

My intent is to give him a name inspired by someone who did something great. Founding fathers of the US, influential philosophers, great leaders throughout history, that sort of thing.

My daughter's name is Alexandra, after Alexander the Great.

The problem is that some names have negative personal connotations, too.
Personally, I think James (after James Madison), Thomas (after Thomas Jefferson), Friederich (after Friederich Nietzsche), Arthur (after Arthur Schopenhaur), William (after William James), Patrick (after Patrick Henry) would all be great names. Problem is, all of them remind us of someone we personally hate.

Otto (after Otto Von Bismarck) is the first name I've come up with which is a) German, b) representative of a very important person, c) has no negative personal feelings attached to it.

I think it's a great thing to link the name to someone other than just pulling something out of a hat. My youngest son's name has my father and my ex-fil's middle names and has the same initials as my Dad. I'm the youngest and I have the same initials as my Grandfather. It at least gives a reason for the name should it be something different. There's always Manfred or Erich.

 

[DonkeyShoes]

If you are going to use Otto von Bismarck as inspiration, I think the first name Bismarck would be even better. Otto reminds me of the bus driver from the Simpsons.

 

[TxBrew]

I've only known one Otto and he was crazy. Had the psycho eyes.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Being named after Bismarck does have one advantage. When he is older, He can play "Sink the Bismarck" with his lady friends. )