A Sicilian surname of Germanic root, derived from the compound Othal Ric, with the meaning "powerful through nobility" or "lord of the noble lineage", formed of othal (noble, belonging to the aristocracy) and ric (power, dominion).

This combination is the same that gave the name Enrico (Heinrich in modern German, Henry in English, Henri in French), one of the most widespread anthroponyms of medieval European onomastics. Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire (1050–1106) was the protagonist of the celebrated humiliation of Canossa in 1077 before Pope Gregory VII, a central episode of the Investiture Controversy of the 11th century.