A male name. Old German Audo, later Odo or Otho, derivative of auda, the equivalent of Old English ead ‘rich’. It was introduced into England by the Normans, who used both d and th forms; thus in Domesday Book we find Odo, Oddo, Otho, Otto. The commonest form at a later date was Otes (the Old French cas-tujet). The surnames Oddy, Oddie, Ody, Odey, Odlin, Odling, Oat, Oats, Oates, Oatson, and others are derived from it. Camden says ‘Othes an old name in England, drawn from Otho’. Otes is found in Cornwall as late as 1547 Ottie in 1597. Otho has been used in the Cooke family of Lancashire from the 17th C to the present day. The diminutive Odinel was also used. The name was revived in the form Odo in a few families in the 19th C. The mod German Otto is also now occasionally used.

Odo Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum 1067-71. Otto, Otho, Odo, Oddo Domesday Book 1086. Odo Curia Regis Rolls 1189, Feudal Aids 1346. Ode, Odde Hundred Rolls 1273. Otes Curia Regis Rolls 1189-1220, Hundred Rolls 1273, Yorks Poll Tax of West Riding of Yorkshire 1379 1379. Hotys Hundred Rolls 1273.

As a German name, probably a Teutonic word meaning ‘rich’ (see Odo); but as an Italian name, it may possibly be a contraction of Ottavio, ‘the eighth’ (see Octavia, Octavius); as an English name, it draws on both Italy and Germany. It is famous for its frequent occurrence in the royal lines of the Holy Roman Empire and of Bavaria.

A Teutonic name, meaning: A mountain. (Anglo-saxon) Wealthy.