Potts surname meaning
An English variant of Pott with -s: from the pet form Pot of Philip, or topographic/occupational “pot,” or Americanized German Botz.
Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.
The short story
Potts is an English surname, a variant of Pott with a genitival or later excrescent -s—sometimes “Pot’s son,” relative, or servant. Pott itself may come from Pot, an Old French pet form of Philipot (from Philip); from a topographic use of Middle English pot for a hollow or pit; or as a metonymic occupational name for a potter. DAFN also lists Americanized German Botz. Parent’s name fits the Philipot personal-name lead that DAFN lists first under Pott, but occupation and place senses keep confidence disputed for families whose local history points another way.
Also seen as: Potts, Pott, Pot, Potter
- Ancestry / DAFN entry for Potts (variant of Pott with -s; German Botz)
- Ancestry / DAFN entry for Pott (Philipot pet form; topographic pot; potter occupational)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)