Potter surname meaning

Potter is an English occupational surname for a maker of drinking and storage vessels. It is an agent noun from Middle English pot and related continental forms; in the Middle Ages a potter might work in earthenware, clay, or sometimes metal. Potier and Pottier are French occupational counterparts, while Potters and Potman are English documentary neighbors. Occupation is the high-confidence catalog type. Because pottery was a widespread craft, the surname could arise independently in many places, and a modern Potter need not have any continuing connection with ceramics.