2000
#2,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,265
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.66
Uncommon Last name
Coats
An English occupational surname for a tailor, one who makes or sells coats or outerwear.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,251 Americans carry the last name Coats. That puts it at #2,364 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,869 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coats surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Coats with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,869
Census rank
#2,364
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,044 bearers of the surname Coats in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2364th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coats, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coats
The surname Coats is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "cote," meaning a peasant's cottage or a small dwelling. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived in a small, humble abode or as an occupational name for a person who constructed or maintained such dwellings.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 13th century in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, where it appeared as "de la Cote." This early spelling suggests that the name was initially a locational surname, indicating a person's place of residence or origin.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "atte Cote," "de la Cote," and "Cotte," reflecting the diverse spellings common in those times. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was John atte Cote, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of Wiltshire in 1332.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the surname underwent further evolution and appeared as "Coates," "Coats," and "Cootes." In the 16th century, the surname became more widespread, with notable figures such as Sir John Coats (1535-1616), a merchant and landowner in Cambridgeshire.
In the 17th century, the Coats family established themselves in Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. One prominent member was Thomas Coats (1809-1883), a Scottish industrialist and founder of the renowned Coats Thread Company, which played a significant role in the textile industry.
Other notable individuals with the surname Coats include Thomas Coats (1766-1835), a British merchant and philanthropist, and Sir Stuart Coats (1878-1968), a British businessman and chairman of the Coats Thread Company.
Throughout history, the surname Coats has been associated with various places, such as Coats, Gloucestershire, and Coates, Cambridgeshire, both of which likely derived their names from the same Old French word as the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coats
Among Census respondents with the surname Coats, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Coats bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Coats surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.3% · 10,575
- Black or African American19.3% · 2,901
- Two or more races4.8% · 727
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 587
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 96
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coats
Coats appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,286
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,943
+678 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 5.40
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#2,364
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,044
-899 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 5.03
Rank movement Down 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,185 | 15,265 | 5.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,286 | 15,943 | 5.40 | +678 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #2,364 | 15,044 | 5.03 | -899 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 78 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Coats surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,286 | #2,364 | -3.4% |
| Count | 15,943 | 15,044 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.40 | 5.03 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coats bearers went from 15,943 to 15,044 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,286 to #2,364.
FAQ
Coats surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coats?
Name Census estimates that about 17,251 living Americans carry the surname Coats. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,869 residents.
How common is Coats?
Coats ranks #2,364 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,044 people with the surname Coats. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Coats.
Has Coats become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coats went from 15,943 recorded bearers to 15,044. That is a decrease of 899 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,286 to #2,364.
What does the Census say about the background of Coats?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coats, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (19.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Coats in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (10,575 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coats appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.3%), Black (19.3%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Coats (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Coats mean?
An English occupational surname for a tailor, one who makes or sells coats or outerwear. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Coats (5.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Coats?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.