Yaphett is an uncommon given name of uncertain origin and meaning. It gained some recognition through its use by American actor Yaphet Kotto, who was born with the name but later changed it to a variation with one less 't'. Despite its unique spelling, there's no widely accepted interpretation for Yaphett; some speculate it could be an invention or a variant of another name like Yaphiel, which is Hebrew in origin.
In 1973 alone, five babies were named Yaphett.