The spelling has varied, for example Gederöen or Gäderöen in 1645, Geterholmen in 1691, Getter ön in 1733, Geterön 1734 and Gietterön in 1752.

[1] The current spelling Getterön was not widely recognized until the 1900s, but appears in documents as early as in the 18th century and used in the public land registry in 1825.

[3] The coat of arms of Varberg Municipality, whose design is taken from a seal from 1536,[4] includes a goat.

[5] In the western part of Getterön, the bedrock consists of charnockite, formed from magma pushed up from the Earth's crust and then solidified.

The older and most famous of them, Getterön Nature Reserve, is one of the finest bird sanctuaries in Sweden and a Ramsar wetland of international importance.