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![Show Contents]() Ottar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Ottar reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Ottar family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Ottar is based on the Scandinavian given name Ottur. When used as a surname Otter indicates that the father of the original bearer was named Ottur. Early Origins of the Ottar familyThe surname Ottar was first found in Huntingdonshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, and are believed to be descended from the celebrated Castellan of Windsor, William FitzOther, son of Otherus, the Duke of Lombardy, the great Norman land owner at the time of the Conquest, who was also scion of the Fitzgeralds, the Gerards and the Windsors. The Clan proliferated in east Yorkshire, Nottingham, Lincoln and Derby. Early History of the Ottar familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ottar research. Another 141 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1140, 1250, 1264, 1291, 1296, 1548 and 1837 are included under the topic Early Ottar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Ottar Spelling VariationsIt is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Ottar are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Ottar include Other, Others, Otter, Otters, Ottyr, Otre, Otir, Oter, Oder, Othyr, FitzOther and many more. Early Notables of the Ottar familyMore information is included under the topic Early Ottar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Ottar familyFaced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Ottar, or a variant listed above: Johan Casspar Other who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1740; Thomas Others settled in Virginia in 1636; Francis Otter landed in America in 1748.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Ottar (post 1700) | + |
- Ottar Brox (1932-2024), Norwegian authority in social science and a politician for the Socialist Left Party
- Ottar Wicklund (1911-1978), Norwegian actor
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Netherlands
England
