Graham,

Re: "Othello", Sue Browden's The New Age Baby Name Book {p. Workman Publishing 1987, p.312} gives this male name as an Italian form of the name "Otto". The meaning given in that book is "prosperous one". I've also seen the name "Otho" and the name "Otto" given the meaning "wealth".

Sue Browden writes this: "Old German"; Modern German form of an older name-Odo-which was introduced into England by the Normans and was used occasionally in England in the nineteenth century. Otto is now used in many countries....[variant forms are] Otik, Oto {Czech}; Othon {French}; Otho, Otfried, Ottocar, Ottomar {German}; Otello, Ottone {Italian}; Audr, Odo {Norwegian}, Onek, Otek, Oton, Otton, Tonek {Polish}; Otilio, Otman, Oto, Oton, Tilo {Spanish}.
-snip-

After reading this list, one question I would ask is where did the Spanish get the name "Otman" from? Given the Moorish influence in Spain, it's very possible that the answer is from the Arabic language and its male name, "Uthman". But maybe Browden is incorrect that Otman is a form of Otto [?]

The meaning of the Arabic male name "Uthman" is usually given as "friend of Muhammad" or "the name of the third Caliph". However, etymologically {if that's the correct word I'm looking for} Uthman means "baby bustard". A bustard is a crane-like bird.

I'm not sure what a baby bustard symbolized among ancient Arabic speaking people. But because the third Caliph's name was Uthman, that name appears to have taken on the status connotations associated with someone who was a "caliph" and a "friend of Muhammad".

Those status {royalty?} connotations cause me to wonder if the meanings given to Otto-"prosperous one" or "wealth"-could have grafted onto the name Otman. Is this a case of two similarly spelled names having similar meanings but having two different etymologies? A different question is could the name "Othello" have come from two sources- Arabic and German?

Apparently there has been an ongoing debate among Shakespearian scholars about the etymology of the name Othello. If the stymolgy was clear cut, it seems to me there wouldn't be any debate {or discussion} about that etymology.

**

http://www.20000-names.com/male_u_names.htm is my source for the "baby bustard" meaning for Uthman.

**

http://www.answers.com/topic/caliph gives this definition for "caliph" :

ca·liph also ca·lif or kha·lif (kā'lĭf, kăl'ĭf)
n.

A leader of an Islamic polity, regarded as a successor of Muhammad and by tradition always male.