An English and Scottish surname, Potts comes from the Old English term ‘pott’ which means a hole and the Middle English term ‘pot’ which refers to a vessel for liquid or storage. The spelling variations for Potts include Pot and Pott. In England within the northeastern region most with the Potts surname reside. The counties with the higher populations of Potts are Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire. In Scotland the Potts surname covers most of the country. The counties with the higher Potts populations include Angus, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Renfrewshire, Selkirkshire, Wigtownshire and Dunbartonshire. Within the United States the Potts families originated primarily in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. Famous: Annie Potts (movie and television actress), Robert “Daddy” Pots (professional football player), Edward Potts (19th century English architect), Mike Potts (professional baseball player), Joe Potts (race car driver from Scotland), John Potts (18th century founder of Pottstown and Pottsville in Pennsylvania), Roosevelt Potts (professional football player), Steve Potts (musician), William Potts (inventor of the three-light system for traffic lights), Wallace Potts (movie film screenwriter and director) and Stephen Potts (author of children’s books in England).