Re: duttry name origin

David,
The name Duttry, Dutrey, Dutery, Dutry, Du Trey, etc. is baffling to those of us who share it. The origin of the name is most likely French - the "du" prefix means "of" in the French language. I believe, however, that the name and the family originated in Belgium where the name Dutry is not uncommon. There are also Dutrys who have been long established in the Normandie region of France. As far as the name meaning anything - especially in French - it really doesn't. A certain element that appears in coat of arms is known as a Dutry, but it appears to be named after a person as it is usually written as a proper noun. There has also been speculation that the name could mean "of Trier" or "du Trier," but I'm not convinced. "Du Terre" means "of the ground." Also not likely and certainly not a common French name (pomme du terre means potato in French). As many Duttrys, Dutreys, etc. found their way in the early and mid 18th Century to predominately German-speaking areas of Pennsylvania (I'm originally from York), where most Belgians would have been somewhat comfortable with the German language, I suspect the origins are Belgium. Further, most of our (my) 18th Century ancestors had common Belgian first names. The name Dutery, by the way, first appears in the early 1700s but only among a family group that settled in northern York County and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. At some point, a branch of the family changed the name to Dutrey because they insisted it was the original spelling. I suspect that it has been changed many, many times over the centuries - but I believe the root is Dutry. It's likely that your ancestors added a "T" to the name so that it would be not be pronounced "DOO-tree" in English.
Wish I could have been more helpful.
Gary Dutery