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

Cheater, 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 Cheater surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cheater in America

Cheater is the 104602nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cheater surname appeared 171 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cheater.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cheater 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 Cheater

The surname "CHEATER" is believed to have originated in England during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "cēat," which meant a small hut or cottage, often temporary or rudimentary in nature. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in such a humble dwelling or worked as a builder of these primitive structures.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John le Chetere is mentioned. The prefix "le" in this spelling indicates a French influence, as Old French was widely used in England following the Norman Conquest. Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including Chetyr, Chetter, and eventually Cheater.

In the 15th century, the Cheater surname appeared in several historical records from the county of Gloucestershire. A Robert Cheter is listed in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1428, while a William Chetyr is mentioned in the Gloucestershire Feet of Fines from 1480. These records suggest that the name had spread across the West Midlands region of England by this time.

One notable figure with the Cheater surname was John Cheater, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol during the 16th century. He was born in 1523 and served as Mayor of Bristol in 1573. Another individual of note was William Cheater (1554-1627), a farmer and landowner from the village of Bibury in Gloucestershire.

In the 17th century, the Cheater surname can be found in the parish records of several English counties, including Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, and Warwickshire. A Thomas Cheater is recorded as being baptized in the village of Corston in Wiltshire in 1642, while a Mary Cheater married John Wilkins in the parish of Fladbury, Worcestershire, in 1685.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Cheater name in North America was William Cheater, who immigrated to Virginia from England in the late 17th century. He settled in Middlesex County and is recorded as owning land there in 1704. Another early American with this surname was John Cheater, who was born in Massachusetts in 1712.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cheater

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

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

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

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