The etymology of the village name is disputed: an article in the Kent and Sussex Courier claims that Otford is a contraction of Ottansford, meaning the ford of Otta, a local man of importance.

The archaeologist Brian Philp suggested that the community who buried their dead at Polhill likely lived at Otford, noting that from the centre of the village, the cemetery was visible.

[citation needed] The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 3, published 1797,[9] indicates that Otford's Saxon name was Ottanford.

The chronicler monk John of Worcester told that Edmund Ironside brought his army to Kent, and fought the Danes at the Battle of Otford in 1016.

Otford is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it shows that the Archbishop of Canterbury possessed 8 mills in the village, which is referred to as Otefort.

[11] The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 3[9] notes that the Textus Roffensis or Tome of Rochester, published between 1122 and 1124, uses Otteford as the name.

The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent says that: "Otford Parish is about nine miles in circumference, and contains about two thousand four hundred acres of land, of which about seventy are woodland.

It lies for the greatest part of it in a low damp situation, which makes it far from being pleasant, and gives it a lonely and gloomy appearance, and in all probability it would have been but little known had it not been for the residence of the archbishops at it for such a length of time.

[7] In 1887, the Scottish theologian and historian John Hunt was appointed Vicar of St Bartholomew’s Anglican church.

Otford station is located in the village and has services northbound to central London via Bromley South to Victoria, Blackfriars and St Pancras and southbound to Ashford International via Maidstone East and to Sevenoaks.

Some parts of north western Otford are closer to Dunton Green station, which has services northbound to Charing Cross and Cannon Street as well as to Sevenoaks.

The presence of the site of a Roman Villa, in addition to the remains of an ancient trackway, suggests that this road has a long history.

Otford Village Memorial Hall[30] is available for hire, and also regularly hosts local clubs ranging from dance to theatre, and bridge to embroidery.

Percy Pilcher is often quoted as being the first man to fly a glider in the British Isles, on 12 September 1895 (although there are good records showing that Eilmer of Malmsbury actually accomplished this in the 11th century).

In some parts of Otford, the Crystal Palace transmitter can be received directly, and offers a richer set of multiplexes than the local relay.

It is open Tuesdays and Fridays all day, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays mornings only, and is closed on Wednesday and Sunday.

[37] Otford Conservation Area covers some 16 hectares and contains about forty listed buildings and part of the scheduled monument of the Archbishop's Palace.

[38] Reported crimes over the 12-month period May 2017 to April 2018 have occurred at a frequency of approximately 30 per month in the Otford and Shoreham areas.