Introduction
The original German spelling, found on German records and signatures on early
land transactions in the United States, was OTTENI. Today, most of the
United States descendants from Germany spell the name OATNEY, OTNEY, OTTNEY
and OTTENI.
Over the years,
there have been many different spellings of the name.
At least eleven variations have been found to date. Besides the four spellings used
today in the US, earlier
variations included: OTTNE, OTTENE, OTTENY, OTTINE, OTTINEY, OTTONI, and OATTNEY.
There are many families
in Germany that still spell their name OTTENI. There is one branch in
Germany that spell their name OTTENY. In the late 1800's, Franz Xaver used
the OTTENY spelling. Since this family moved from Urloffen, the variant
spelling became the the formal spelling and the descendants of Franz Xaver
Otteny kept the spelling.
The vowel ending of the
original OTTENI name suggests that the origin is other than German. As German family
lore endorses, and the spelling indicates, the name and family most probably has its roots
in Italy. From the German book "Heimatbuch der Germeinde Urloffen",
the author writes that the Otteni family settled in Urloffen Germany about 1676 indicating
a move to this area of Germany.
Benedict Otteni, the progenitor of most OATNEY and OTNEY family members in the United States today, was born in Urloffen, Germany on 19 March 1793. Urloffen was the main settlement area for the Otteni's in Germany, however others lived in nearby Nussbach, and Renchen.
Family members in the U.S. spelling their name OTTENI are descendants of Theodor Otteni (1844-1911) and his wife Theresia (Wörner) (1846-1927). They came to the United States from Urloffen, Germany in 1872. Theodor settled in the northwestern part of Pennsylvania and engaged in farming. He and his wife raised 12 children with many descendants still living in the area.
OTTNEY family members in the U.S. and Canada descend from Anton Otteni. Anton (1786-1865) and his wife, Barbara Schneider, also came to the United States in the 1830's. The family first settled in New York State but later moved to northwest Ohio.
The following is a quick graphic of how the families in the U.S. are related.
