The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the local Ofotfjorden (Old Norse: Ófóti) since the fjord is the central feature of the area as well as the name of the whole Ofoten region.

[5][7] The Church of Norway had one parish (sokn) within Ofoten Municipality.

At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Ofoten prestegjeld and the Nordre Salten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

[8] The highest point in the municipality is the 1,893.7-metre (6,213 ft) tall mountain Storsteinsfjellet.

[1] The municipality was located at the inner part of the Ofotfjorden, along the border with Sweden (to the east and south).