Bate last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Bate is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bate.

Meaning of Bate

An English occupational surname referring to a coppersmith or metalworker, derived from the Middle English word "bate."

Bate, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bate surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bate in America

Bate is the 14881st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bate surname appeared 1,988 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bate.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bate to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 14881 15408 -3.48%
Count 1,988 1,747 12.90%
Proportion per 100k 0.67 0.65 3.03%

The history of the last name Bate

The surname BATE is of English origin, deriving from various locations and placenames in England and Scotland. It likely emerged as an occupational surname in the 12th or 13th century, referring to someone who lived near a small valley or hollow.

The name BATE is believed to have originated from the Old English word "bat," meaning a hollow or valley. It was often used as a placename suffix, such as in Battenhall, Worcestershire, or Battersea in London, which means "Batte's island."

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the surname is recorded as "Bate" and "Batte," referring to landowners and tenants in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is Thomas Bate, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191. Another early bearer was William de Bate, recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.

Notable historical figures with the surname BATE include George Bate (1608-1668), an English writer and clergyman; Henry Bate (1695-1773), a Welsh physician and author; and John Bate (1775-1859), an English artist and engraver.

In Scotland, the name BATE is found in various spellings, such as Bait, Bate, and Baitt. One prominent Scottish figure was William Bate (c. 1625-1699), a Presbyterian minister and theologian who wrote extensively on church government and religious matters.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Henry Bate Dudley (1745-1824), an English clergyman and author who published works on botany and natural history.

The surname BATE has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Bate's Green in Suffolk, Bate's Croft in Gloucestershire, and Bate's Farm in Oxfordshire, reflecting the surname's geographical origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bate

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bate.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bate was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 83.60% 1,662
Non-Hispanic Black Only 5.89% 117
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 3.22% 64
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 4.43% 88

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bate has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 83.60% 89.01% -6.27%
Black 5.89% 4.24% 32.58%
Asian and Pacific Islander 3.22% 1.72% 60.73%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.40% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 2.00% (S)%
Hispanic 4.43% 2.63% 50.99%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bate was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bate, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Bate last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on April 27, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/bate-surname-popularity/.

"Bate last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/bate-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 April, 2025

Bate last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/bate-surname-popularity/.

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