Poteat
A surname most likely tied to a place name or a nickname based on an old personal name, with roots in medieval English usage.
The #9,384 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,104 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Poteat is not a common surname in the standard surname dictionaries, and without direct historical citations its origin is best treated cautiously. It may be a regional or phonetic variant of an older English surname such as Poteet, Potett, or a related form built on Middle English or Norman personal-name elements. In many cases like this, the name was later fixed in spelling after families moved into areas where clerks recorded the pronunciation rather than the original form.
History
The surname is most familiar today in the United States, especially in the South, where spellings could stabilize in several different ways over time. Because the name is relatively rare and lacks a single widely attested dictionary entry, its early history is likely tied to one or a few immigrant or colonial family lines rather than to a large, widespread surname tradition.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Rare surnames like Poteat often preserve old local pronunciations that disappeared from the spelling centuries ago.