Philpott is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought to England. It comes from the name Phillipot, which is a version of the ancient given name Phillip. Phillip derives from the Greek name Phillipos, which derives from the words philein, meaning to love, and hippos, meaning horse.   The name was spelled Phillpott, Phillpotts, Phillpot, Phillpots, Philpot, Philpots, Philpott and many more.

In the United States, the name Philpott is the 7,876th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name.