Ottilie Explained

Ottilie is a feminine given name. It is a French derivative^[1] of the medieval German masculine name Otto, and has the meaning "prosperous in battle", "riches", "prosperous" or "wealth".^[2]

Usage

The name has been in use among Flemish and German families since the medieval era. According to legend, Odile of Alsace, a Roman Catholic saint also known as Saint Odilia or Ottilia, was born blind but regained her sight when she was baptized. The saint was revered in France, Germany, and Switzerland. Ottilie is a variant of Odile. Ottilia, Ottiliana, and Ottoline are variants of Ottilie. Ottilie was in occasional use in the United Kingdom by the 19th century, where it was in use mainly by families of Flemish and German descent who had settled in Yorkshire and Lancashire as well as in London. Ottilie and variant Ottoline came into rare, occasional use among upper class English families by the early 20th century.^[3] Ottilie increased in use among socially influential British families by the 1980s. It was the name most often given to newborn girls whose parents published a birth announcement in The Daily Telegraph in 2019. One study found that Ottilie was the second most popular name chosen by billionaires for their daughters.^[4] The name has increased in popularity in England and Wales in recent years. It has ranked among the top 500 names for girls in those countries since 2015 and was the 83rd most popular name for girls there in 2022.^[5]

Usage of the names Ottilie and Ottilia in the United States was greatest in the 1800s among Austrian, Bohemian, German, Polish, and Swiss immigrants.^[6] It is now an unfamiliar name to many Americans, but is also increasing in usage in the United States.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Women named Ottilie

• Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen (1451–1517), German aristocrat
• Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen (1437–1493), German aristocrat
• Ottilie Abrahams (1937–2018), Namibian activist
• Ottilie Assing (1819–1884), German journalist
• Ottilie Baader (1847–1925), German women's rights activist and socialist
• Ottilie von Bistram (1859–1931), Latvian writer and teacher
• Ottilie Bondy (1832–1921), Austrian women's rights activist and women's association official
• Ottilie Davidová (1892–1943), Austrian-Czech Jewish woman, the youngest of Franz Kafka's three sisters
• Johanna Gabrielle Ottilie "Tilly" Edinger (1897–1967), German-born Jewish-American paleontologist and the founder of paleoneurology
• Ottilie Fleischer (1911–2005), German athlete
• Ottilie Louise Fresco (born 1952), Dutch scientist
• Ottilie Genée (1834–1911), German stage actress and operatic soprano
• Otti Geschka (born 1939), full name Ottilie Geschka, German pediatric nurse and politician
• Ottilie Godefroy (1880–1971), Austrian actress who performed under the name Tilla Durieux
• Ottilie von Goethe (1796–1872), German socialite and the daughter-in-law of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Ottilie von Hansemann (1840–1919), German women's rights activist
• Ottilie Houser Brattain, American mathematician and mother of the physicist Walter Houser Brattain
• Ottilie Hoffmann (1835–1925), German educationalist and social reformer
• Ottilie Klein (born 1984), German politician
• Tillie Klimek (1876–1936), American serial killer
• Ottilie Kruger (1926–2005), American actress and daughter of the actor Otto Kruger
• Ottilie A. Liljencrantz (1876–1910), American writer
• Tilly Losch (1903–1975), Austrian dancer and choreographer
• Ottilie Maclaren Wallace (1875–1947), Scottish sculptor
• Ottalie Mark (1896–1979), American musicologist
• Ottilie Markholt (1916–2004), American trade unionist, labor historian, and political activist
• Ottilie Metzger (1878–1943), German contralto
• Ottilie Mulzet (born 1960), Canadian translator of Hungarian poetry and prose
• Ottilie Palm Jost (1878–1961), Canadian impressionist artist
• Ottilie Patterson (1932–2011), Northern Irish jazz singer
• Ottilie Pohl (1867–1943), German Jewish socialist politician and activist
• Ottilie Reylaender (1882–1965), German painter
• Ottilie Roederstein (1859–1937), Swiss painter
• Ottilie "Tilly" Spiegel (1906–1988), Austrian political activist
• Ottilie Stibaner (1908–1972), German chess player
• Ottilie Sutro (1872–1970), American pianist
• Ottilie Tolansky (1912–1977), Austrian artist
• Ottilie Turnbull Seybolt (1889–1978), American theater professor
• Ottilie Wildermuth (1817–1877), German writer

Women named Ottilia

• Ottilia Borbáth (born 1946), Romanian actress
• Otylia Jędrzejczak (born 1983), Polish swimmer
• Ottilia Carolina Kuhlman (1778–1866), Swedish actress
• Ottilia Littmarck (1834–1929), Swedish actress and director

Women named Ottoline

• Ottoline Leyser (born 1965), British plant biologist
• Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873–1938), English society hostess

Fictional characters

• Ottilie, a principal character in the novel Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Ottilie Harshom, protagonist in John Wyndham‘s story "Random Quest", published in 1961 and later made into the film Quest for Love
• Ottilie, in "To Ottilie" by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Ottilie, in the short story "House of Flowers" by Truman Capote, later adapted into a musical of the same name

Notes and References

1. Book: Ottilie – Oxford Reference. 2006. en. 10.1093/acref/9780198610601.001.0001. 2018-03-03. Hanks. Patrick. Hardcastle. Kate. Hodges. Flavia. Ottilie. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-861060-1.
2. Web site: Ottilie: Meaning Of Name Ottilie. nameberry.com. en-US. 2018-03-03.
3. Web site: NAME OF THE WEEK: OTTILIE . Nickerson . Eleanor . 22 October 2016 . britishbabynames.com . British Baby Names (blog) . 23 November 2024 .
4. Web site: Revealed: Ottilie, the French-inspired name girl's name, is the most unusual ever to top the Telegraph baby list . Mendick . Robert . 31 December 2019 . telegraph.co.uk . The Telegraph . 22 November 2024 .
5. Web site: Baby names in England and Wales: 2022 . ons.gov.uk. en-US. 2024-11-22.
6. http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Ottilie Think baby names website
7. Web site: Mum changed her daughter’s name three months after her birth because nobody could pronounce it . Gladwell . Hattie . 8 August 2016 . metro.co.uk . Metro . 22 November 2024 .
8. Web site: Ottilie: Baby Name of the Day. 24 September 2012.
9. Web site: Popular Baby Names.