The German surname Blattner can derive from two sources.  Firstly, the name is of occupational origin, deriving from the type of work a man once did or the profession he pursued.  In this instance, the name is traceable to the Middle High German term 'blatenaere' which was literally translated as 'one who made blats'. A 'blat' was a piece of armoury worn in the medieval armies, it was usually a breast plate or a part of the uniform where a sword was held. Due to the incessant private warfare during the Middle Ages a permanent military class was established; hence the making of uniforms and military accessories was a prominent business. These soldiers frequently took part in the Crusades, a series of wars organised by European Christians from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries in order to ride the Holy Land from Islam. The 'blatenaere' usually took part in these military campaigns and also suppliedarmaments to his army.

Secondly, this name can derive from a local source, from the name of the locality where the original bearer once lived or held land. In this case, the name derives from the Swiss town named Blatten and the surname came to denote 'a native of Blatten'. The earliest record of this name occurs in the 'Forschungen sur Kuntgeschichte im 15|16 Jahrhunderts'; one Peter Blattner is listed therein as being a resident of Basel in 1421. A variant of this name is Plattner as the letters 'B' and 'P' are interchangeable in German.