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Ottilie

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Ottilie is a given name for women. The name is a French derivative [1] of the medieval German masculine name Otto, and has the meaning "prosperous in battle", "riches", "prosperous" or "wealth". [2] It has never become very popular in modern culture and has remained very low on popularity rankings only reaching its peak in 1880 when it reached almost 600th position in the US.[3] Ottilie is a much more common first name in German-speaking countries.[4]

One of the most well known historical uses of the name is Ottilie Davida Assing, a 19th-century German feminist, freethinker, and abolitionist.[5]

Ottilie was the name given to the female protagonist in John Wyndham's science fiction story "Random Quest" later made into a film "Quest for Love", starring Joan Collins as Ottilie, Tom Bell, Denholm Elliott and Laurence Naismith. The story is about a scientist, Colin Trafford, who crosses into a parallel world after a scientific demonstration goes wrong. He finds himself married to Ottilie Harshom, falls in love with her, and then desperately looks for her when he returns to his own world - the "quest" of the title.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a poem called "To Ottilie".[6]

Ottilie is one of the four principal characters in the novel Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The term elective affinities was taken from 18th century chemistry, and describes how attractive forces between different atoms dictate their reactions.[7] In the story, Eduard, Charlotte, the Captain, and Ottilie are assembled in a mansion on Eduard's estate in the country. In keeping with its title, the characters are isolated from extraneous influences and allowed to react with each other.

There is a character called Ottilie in a short story by Truman Capote, 'House Of Flowers' published in 1958 and later adapted into a musical.

Ottilie is a variant of Odile. Ottilia and Ottoline are both variants of Ottilie.

References

  1. ^ "Ottilie - Oxford Reference". doi:10.1093/acref/9780198610601.001.0001/acref-9780198610601-e-2527. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  2. ^ "Ottilie: Meaning Of Name Ottilie". nameberry.com. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  3. ^ Think baby names website
  4. ^ Ottilie on German Wikipedia
  5. ^ "Ottilie Assing". Wikipedia. 2017-12-28.
  6. ^ "To Ottilie" by Robert Louis Stevenson
  7. ^ Bhanji, S; Jolles FE; Jolles RA (September 1990). "Goethe's Ottilie". J R Soc Med. 83 (9): 581–585. PMC 1292821. PMID 2213809.