Cotter Family History
Cotter Name Meaning
Irish (Cork): from a shortened form of Mac Coitir earlier Mac Oitir ‘son of Oitir’ a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Óttarr (from ótti ‘fear dread’). Old Norse Óttarr appears to have had two renderings in Gaelic Ottar and Oitir. The former appears in Cotter the latter in Cottier but the record especially of Cottier suggests that the two names have sometimes been confused. English: status name from Middle English coter a technical term in the feudal system for a serf or bond tenant who held a cottage by service rather than rent from Old English cot ‘cottage hut’ (see Coates ) + -er agent suffix. However in England the name is usually that of Irish immigrant families. Possibly an Americanized form of German Kotter .
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022