The authors agree that the surname derives from a Germanic given name compounded from two elements. A. Bongioanni identifies the roots hlod / hlud, with the sense of "illustrious", and hari, with the sense of "army", noting that in modern German the name evolved into Luther and that its meaning is analogous to that of Clovis. V. Blunda specifies the forms hloda ("famous, renowned") and harja ("army, host"), with the joint meaning of "glorious host" or "famous army".

Blunda stresses that Lothair I (c. 795–855), grandson of Charlemagne and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, gave his name to Lotharingia —present-day Lorraine—, the region his dynastic branch received in the partition of Verdun (843), a treaty that separated the destiny of the West Frankish kingdom (the future France) from that of the East Frankish one (the future Germany).

Bongioanni notes that the name underlies several Italian place names: Lodrino and Ludriano in the Brescia area, Lodrignano in the Parma area and Ludrigno in the Bergamo area. As for derived surnames, he indicates that the Piedmontese forms are Lautieri and Lottieri, while Lotteringhi is a Tuscan patronymic.