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

Bateman, 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 Bateman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bateman in America

Bateman is the 1893rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bateman surname appeared 19,001 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Bateman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bateman 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.

The history of the last name Bateman

The surname Bateman originated from England and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words 'bate' meaning boat or vessel, and 'man' meaning a person, thus a Bateman was a boatman or sailor. The name was prevalent in areas near rivers and coastlines where boating and fishing were common occupations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Bateman is listed as a landowner in Norfolk. Another early reference is from the Pipe Rolls of Sussex in 1195, mentioning a William Bateman.

In the 13th century, the Bateman family held land in Hartington, Derbyshire, and a branch of the family settled in Newington, Oxfordshire. The latter produced several notable individuals, including Sir William Bateman (1298-1354), who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Bishop of Norwich.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Batemans were also found in Kent, where they held the manor of Shobdon. William Bateman (c. 1350-1428) from this branch was a respected theologian and bishop of Norwich.

In the 16th century, a Bateman family resided at Hartington Hall in Derbyshire, and Thomas Bateman (1515-1580) was a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for the county.

Other notable Batemans include Hezekiah Bateman (1590-1663), an English lawyer and member of the Long Parliament, and William Bateman (1787-1835), an English naturalist and writer on ornithology.

The name has also been linked to various place names such as Bateman's Green in Essex, Bateman Street in Cambridgeshire, and the village of Bateman in Herefordshire. Over time, variations in spelling like Batmann, Battman, and Batteman have also been documented.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bateman

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

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 Bateman was:

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 Bateman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Bateman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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