The dukedom was named after the town of Otranto on the east coast of the Salento peninsula in Italy and created – under the French name of Otrante – as a duché grand-fief (a hereditary but nominal honor) in the satellite Kingdom of Naples.
The ducal house of Fouché d'Otrante is still extant in the Kingdom of Sweden, where the dukes have lived since the 19th century. In Sweden, they are considered to be part of the unintroduced nobility.
As of 2017, the title is held by Charles-Louis Armand Fouché d'Otrante, 8th Duc d'Otrante (born in Stockholm, 14 March 1986).
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante (21 May 1759 Le Pellerin, near Nantes, France - 25 December 1820 Trieste, then Austrian Empire, now Italy) was a son of Julien Joseph Fouché (1719–1771) and wife Marie Françoise Croizet (1720–1793), paternal grandson of Julien Fouché (1667–1745, son of Ambroise Fouché and wife Jeanne Passedouet born in 1629) and wife Marguerite Chiron (1683–1723, daughter of Toussaint Chiron and wife Marguerite Leray, paternal granddaughter of Pierre Chiron and wife Marguerite Hillaire and maternal granddaughter of Samson Leray and wife Marguerite Caillaud) and maternal grandson of Jean Croizet (c. 1690 -, son of Guillaume Croizet born in 1649 and died in 1719 and wife Nicole Bebar) and wife Marie Chesneau.
By his marriage to Bonne Jeanne Coiquaud (1763–1812), daughter of Nicolas François Coiquaud (1732–1794) and wife Marguerite Gautier (1734–1801), paternal granddaughter of Noël Coiquaud (1689–1764, son of Charles Coiquaud and wife Catherine Recoquille born in 1655 - 1733) and wife Catherine Lahogue (1690–1758, daughter of Charles Lahogue and wife Catherine Lefevre, born in 1646 and died in 1733) and maternal granddaughter of Pierre Gautier (c. 1690 - 1737, son of Jean Gautier and wife Claire Agaisse) and wife Jacquette Boisgontier (- 1743, daughter of Guillaume Boisgontier and wife Jacquette Jolivette born in 1644 and died in 1749), the 1st Duc d'Otrante had the following issue who reached adulthood:
Joseph Liberté Fouché d'Otrante, 2nd Duc d'Otrante (Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, 22 July 1796 – Paris, 31 December 1862), married to Fortunée Collin de Sussy on 14 July 1824; they separated shortly after without issue.
Armand François Cyriac Fouché d'Otrante, 3rd Duc d'Otrante (Paris, 25 March 1800 – Stjärnholm, 26 November 1878). Unmarried and without issue.
Paul Athanase Fouché d'Otrante, 4th Duc d'Otrante (Paris, 25 June 1801 – St. Germain-en-Laye, 10 February 1886), chamberlain to Oscar I of Sweden. Married firstly at Finspång, 24 January 1824 Christina Baroness Palmstierna (Stockholm, 11 February 1799 – Paris, 26 April 1826), without issue, secondly in Stockholm, 18 August 1836 Vilhelmina Amalia Baroness von Stedingk (Turku, Finland, 28 January 1802 – Helsinki, Finland, 25 February 1863), daughter of Victor Friherre von Stedingk and wife Lovisa Löf, and thirdly at St. Germain-en-Laye, 9 June 1884 Fronika Marx (Lyon, 4 February 1846 – Paris, 14 March 1887); he had issue, which remained in Sweden:
(by second wife) Pauline Ernestine Fouché d'Otrante (25 June 1839 – 22 August 1906), married on 7 November 1861 Ture Greve Bielke (8 September 1829 – 28 October 1899), son of Nils Greve Bielke and wife Ebba friherrinna Sture, and had issue
Elghammar Castle(by second wife) Gustave Armand Fouché d'Otrante, 5th Duc d'Otrante (Paris, 17 June 1840 – Stjernholm, 5 August 1910), married firstly in Stockholm, 2 May 1865 Augusta Baroness Bonde (Gimmersta, 30 August 1846 – Stockholm, 4 March 1872), daughter of Knut Philip Baron Bonde and wife Lady Augusta Fitzclarence, daughter of the 1st Earls of Munster, and secondly in London, 5 July 1873 Therese Baroness von Stedingk (Stockholm, 30 January 1837 – Baden-Baden, 21 June 1901), heiress of Elghammar Castle in Gnesta, Sweden; daughter of Ludvig Baron von Stedingk and wife Lovisa von Haxthausen, and had issue, a daughter and a son:
(by first wife) Adelaide Augustine Fouché d'Otrante (Paris, 2 May 1866 – Stockholm, 12 November 1943), married in Stockholm, 14 October 1893 Frederik Mauritz Peyron (Karlskrona, 2 July 1861 – Stockholm, 8 January 1915)
Victoria Anne Therese Fouché d'Otrante (Stockholm, 9 March 1907 – 6 July 2000), married firstly Elghammar, 18 August 1929 and divorced in 1937 Axel Hans Wilhelm Hjalmarsson Bennich (Stockholm, 2 April 1895 – Sundsvall, 12 July 1950), and had issue, and secondly at Elghammar, 29 August 1937 Eugen Frederik Christer Baron von Stedingk (Stockholm, 1 June 1896 – Stockholm, 30 August 1947), and had female issue
Louis Douglas Fouché d'Otrante (Elghammar, 5 March 1917- 3 November 2010), married in Stockholm, 20 June 1944 Birgitta Helena Christina Tham (Örebro, 11 December 1915 - Stockholm, 5 July 2012), and had female issue:
Josephine Ebba Madeleine Fouché d'Otrante (Stockholm, 31 May 1946), married in Stockholm, 26 September 1973 Hans Olof Dyhlen (Stockholm, 23 November 1945), and had issue
Agneta Hélène Marie Fouché d'Otrante (Stockholm, 12 February 1948), married in Stockholm, 3 October 1970 H.S.H. Philipp-Reinhard 7th Fürst zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (Lich, 27 November 1934 - Lich, 28 July 2015), and had issue
(by third wife, born before wedlock) Paul Joseph Marie Fouché d'Otrante (Ostend, 21 July 1871 – Buenos Aires, 6 November 1930), married at Villiers-sur-Morin, 24 November 1892 Amélie Adrienne Berthe Ancellin (Crécy-en-Brie, 15 January 1872 – Villiers-sur-Morin, 22 March 1963), and had female issue:
Madeleine Paule Fouché d'Otrante (Paris, 14 August 1895 – London, 25 January 1973), unmarried and without issue
Thérèse Berthe Fouché d'Otrante (Paris, 28 November 1900 – Meaux, 1 October 1985), married in Paris, 24 December 1946 Jean Arthur Plisson (Rosny-sous-Bois, 27 November 1900 – Meaux, 19 September 1986)
Joséphine-Ludmille Fouché d'Otrante (1803 – 1893), married to Adolphe Comte de La Barthe de Thermes (1789–1869), and had issue.