2000
#491
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 61,400
First available Census row
Per 100,000 22.76
Uncommon Last name
Yates
Derived from Middle English "yate," meaning a gate, and likely referred to someone who lived near a gate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 69,470 Americans carry the last name Yates. That puts it at #550 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 20.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,934 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yates 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 Yates with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
69K
1 in 4,934
Census rank
#550
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
20.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
61K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 60,581 bearers of the surname Yates in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 20.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 550th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yates, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yates
The surname Yates has its origins in England and dates back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "geat," meaning a gate or opening, and was likely an occupational name for a gatekeeper or someone who lived near a gate. The name is also closely associated with various place names in England, such as Yate in Gloucestershire and Yateley in Hampshire.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Iete" and "Iet." In the 13th century, variations like "atte Yate" and "de la Yate" were common, reflecting the influence of Norman French on English surnames.
The earliest known bearer of the surname Yates was John atte Yate, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. Another early example is Richard del Yate, who was recorded in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1285.
Over the centuries, the surname Yates has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Sir Robert Yates (1599-1679), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament who played a significant role in the English Civil War. Another prominent figure was Edmund Yates (1831-1894), a British novelist and journalist who co-founded the popular magazine The World.
Other notable individuals with the surname Yates include:
1. Walter Yates (1646-1718), an English seaman and explorer known for his voyages to the West Indies and South America.
2. Robert Yates (1738-1801), an American revolutionary and one of the signers of the United States Constitution.
3. Edmund Hodgson Yates (1831-1894), a British novelist, playwright, and journalist best known for his novel "Black Sheep."
4. Frances Amelia Yates (1899-1981), an English historian and scholar of Renaissance studies, known for her work on the Hermetic tradition.
5. Christopher Yates (1786-1848), an English actor and playwright who wrote several successful comedies in the early 19th century.
The surname Yates has maintained its presence throughout history, with numerous variations and spellings emerging over time, such as Yate, Yeats, and Yeates. While its origins can be traced back to medieval England, the name has since spread across the globe, carried by generations of individuals with diverse backgrounds and achievements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yates
Among Census respondents with the surname Yates, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Yates 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 Yates surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 47,084
- Black or African American13.5% · 8,155
- Two or more races4.4% · 2,673
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,952
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 392
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 325
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yates
Yates 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
#535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 63,254
+1,854 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 21.44
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#550
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 60,581
-2,673 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 20.27
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #491 | 61,400 | 22.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #535 | 63,254 | 21.44 | +1,854 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #550 | 60,581 | 20.27 | -2,673 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 15 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 Yates 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 | #535 | #550 | -2.8% |
| Count | 63,254 | 60,581 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 21.44 | 20.27 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yates bearers went from 63,254 to 60,581 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #535 to #550.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Yates
FAQ
Yates surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yates?
Name Census estimates that about 69,470 living Americans carry the surname Yates. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,934 residents.
How common is Yates?
Yates ranks #550 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 20.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 20 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 60,581 people with the surname Yates. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (69,470), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 20.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 20.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 20 of them to have the surname Yates.
Has Yates become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yates went from 63,254 recorded bearers to 60,581. That is a decrease of 2,673 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #535 to #550.
What does the Census say about the background of Yates?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yates, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Yates in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (47,084 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yates appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.7%), Black (13.5%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Yates (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 Yates mean?
Derived from Middle English "yate," meaning a gate, and likely referred to someone who lived near a gate. 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 Yates (20.27 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 Yates?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.