Philpott
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Philip,” with a familiar English diminutive form.
The #7,981 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 74,540 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Philpott comes from the personal name Philip, often through the medieval pet form Philipot or Philpot. The ending -ot is a French diminutive, so the name originally meant something like “little Philip” and then “Philip’s son.” The deeper root of Philip is Greek Philippos, meaning “lover of horses.”
History
The surname is long established in England and appears in medieval and later records in spellings such as Philpot, Philpott, and Philpotts. Historical surname writers treat it as one of several English patronymics built from a shortened forename plus a diminutive ending, similar to Wilmot from William. It remained especially common in England and later spread to other English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older writers sometimes noted that the same diminutive pattern produced surnames like Wilmot, Elliott, and Emmett from other common given names.
From the historical record
“PHILLPOTT PHILPOT PHILPOTT Philippot and Philippet are common French surnames. PHILLPOTTS, Phillpot(t)'s (Son): v. Phillpot(t. PHILP for Philip, q.v. PHILPIN = Philip (q.v.) + the Fr. dim. suff. -in. ' '”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)