Otter Family History

English, German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for an otter hunter, or nickname for someone supposedly resembling an otter, from Middle English, Middle High German oter, Middle Dutch otter, German Otter ‘otter’. The Jewish surname can be ornamental. English: from the late Old English personal name Ohthere, a borrowing of Old Norse Óttar, composed of the elements ótti ‘fear’, ‘dread’ + herr ‘army’. In Scotland the Old Norse name is the source. French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements aud, od ‘wealth’ + hari, heri ‘army’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press