Potts
Usually a patronymic from Pott, but it can also reflect an ancestor connected with pots or pottery.
The #902 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,066 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Potts is most often explained as a patronymic form of Pott, meaning “Pott’s (son)” or “descendant of Pott.” The underlying base name Pott can itself be a short form of Philipot/Philip, so in some cases the surname ultimately goes back to Philip. A second possible source is the occupational nickname for someone who made or sold pots, vessels, or related goods.
History
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers mainly treated Potts as an English name, especially a northern one, and some noted its presence in Northumberland. Because the spelling is also identical to the plural of pot, later writers sometimes discussed whether it could have arisen from an occupation or even from a local topographic word in northern dialect. In practice, the patronymic explanation from Pott is the standard one in the historical sources consulted.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley connected Potts with the same nickname family that produced forms like Philipott and Philpott, showing how one medieval forename could generate several surnames.
From the historical record
“There is also Potton Island, Essex. POTTS I Pott's (Son) : v. Pott. 2 a nickname for a maker or seller of Potvine 89 Powter”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)