Luttrell is an old family name from the British Isles thought to originate either from the Normans or from Old/Middle English. Over the centuries Luttrells have held some high profile positions, ranging from Lords of the Manor of Irnham in Lincolnshire (as portrayed in the Luttrell Psalter) to King John's minister on missions of state to Ireland in the early 1200s. The name has never been numerous in the British Isles, but is more frequent in the USA.

This one name study will commence by collecting records from the UK and Ireland, before branching out more globally.

The most commonly found, and repeated, account of the origin of Luttrell is that it derives from a diminutive of the Old French 'lutre' meaning 'otter'. This account probably exists because the name Loterell appears on the Battle Abbey Roll, which lists those who supposedly accompanied William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, and sounds a bit like 'lutre'. But it is accepted that the Battle Abbey Roll has no historical authority so this account should be treated with some care.

An alternative suggestion, put forward by my father Claude Luttrell who was an academic medievalist, is that the name derives from the Old and Middle English words 'hlutor' and 'well', which respectively mean 'clean, clear' and 'well', making the name cognate with the modern English name 'Clearwater'. 

There is no accepted view on which is correct.

The name has never been widespread in the UK, with only 10 occurences of 'Luttrell' in the 1841 England and Wales census, rising to 52 in 1911. The name was more frequent in Ireland censuses with 120 appearing in 1901 and 130 in 1911.

It is much more common in the USA, with 280 appearances in the 1850 Federal Census, 1100 in 1880, and 3022 in 1920. Today Forebears rates Luttrell as the 3636th most common name in the USA. 

Luttrell appears as a family name almost exclusively in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and, unusually, Japan.