 Nevertheless, writer Ernst Christmann tried to trace the name back to a crypt ("Gruft" in German) or a cave ("Höhle").In the 1355 document that first mentions Krottelbach, the village is called "Crofftelbach", in which the Germanic root can still clearly be recognized, whereas in the centuries that followed, the double F disappeared.In 1458, the name appeared as "Kroftelbach" and at the same time "Krotelbach".