Potapov or Potapova is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include:Aleksandr Potapov (1818–1886), Russian statesman Anastasia Potapova, Russian-Austrian tennis player Leonid Potapov (1935–2020), Russian politician Leonid Potapov (ethnographer) (1905–2000), Russian ethnographer Maksim Potapov, Russian ice hockey player Mikhail Feofanovich Potapov (1921–1943), Soviet artillery captain Mikhail Ivanovich Potapov, Major General of the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army Viktor Potapov (1947–2017), Soviet–Russian sailor Viktor Pavlovich Potapov (1934–2021), Soviet–Russian naval aviation officer Vladimir Potapov (1914–1980), Soviet–Ukrainian mathematician