The Bates surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 95,622 people carried this name — #325 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,080 people counted. That is up 2% from 93,743 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bates surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

A patronymic surname that is derived from Batte, a medieval form of the male given name Bartholomew + -s (denoting "son of") hence meaning "son of Bartholomew".

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Bates» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Bartholomew’.

An early record he cites: Thomas Bateson, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Bate, Bates and Bateson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 83 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 22 births for the Bates name in 1890.

Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 12
Ulster 9
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 100 people named Bates live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 36
San Juan 32
Mendoza 18
City of Buenos Aires 14

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

52 people named Bates live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Bern 11
Zurich 10
Vaud 8
Valais 8
Geneva 6
Schwyz 5
Basel-Landschaft 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 46 people named Bates.

Most of them — 31 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 31
Bouches-du-Rhône 4
Paris 3
Pas-de-Calais 2
Seine-Maritime 2
Oise 1
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 1
Yvelines 1
Martinique 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

60 people named Bates is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 60

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Bates was found among the farmers of 14 counties.

It was most frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland: 38 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 263. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Leicestershire and Rutland 38
Warwickshire 30
Kent 27
Cambridgeshire 24
Buckinghamshire 20
Hertfordshire 18
Staffordshire 18
Derbyshire 17

And 6 more counties.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Bates was recorded 30 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 816th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 30. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

384 families named Bates, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 2,087 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 136
Connecticut 55
Vermont 36
New York 36
Rhode Island 22
North Carolina 22
Pennsylvania 20
Virginia 19
South Carolina 17
Maine 16
New Hampshire 4
Maryland 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 228 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Bates in American newspapers,
1903.

Newspaper page from The Maui News carrying the name Bates
The Maui News 1903-09-26
Newspaper page from The Maui News carrying the name Bates
The Maui News 1903-09-19
Newspaper page from The Maui News carrying the name Bates
The Maui News 1903-09-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,305,533 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bates in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2000s.

101,301 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bates. The most, 17,470, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 34,967
Victoria 21,509
Queensland 19,791
South Australia 12,973
Western Australia 7,143
Tasmania 3,789
ACT (Canberra) 780
Northern Territory 105

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bates.

Who carried it

People named Bates,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Bates
    William Bates 1625–1699 · theologian
  • Benjamin Bates
    Benjamin Bates 1736–1828 · physician
  • Sarah Bates
    Sarah Bates 1755–1811 · singer
  • Thomas Bates
    Thomas Bates 1775–1849 · rancher
  • Morgan Bates
    Morgan Bates 1806–1874 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 211 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bates,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States7,965 records

7,965 records of the Bates name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3,154
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,382
  • Other U.S. records 3,429
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Virgil Jay Bates

    Born 1950; from Coal Valley, Illinois. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; died in an accident 1971 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Rock Island National Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Mike S. Bates

    Born 1916 in Ohio. Enlisted 1943 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; driver from Montgomery County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Dayton National Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret Bates

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 17; servant. From Tipperary, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 7,965 records for Bates in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia3,029 records

3,029 records of the Bates name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,335
  • Tasmanian Names Index 525
  • Other Australian records 1,169
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Bates

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Bussorah Merchant, sailing from Downs in 1829. Native of Norwich, Norfolk. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836. Married 1836 in New Norfolk, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Bates

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cressy, sailing from Plymouth in 1843. Native of Sheffield, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 43.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Bates

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the New Grove, sailing from London in 1834. Native of London, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838. Married 1838 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,029 records for Bates in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada785 records

785 records of the Bates name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 586
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 50
  • Other Canadian records 149
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Nora Bates

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 23; buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Isabel Bates

    Came to Ontario in 1882 aboard the Buenos Ayr, landing at Quebec, bound for Newcastle, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lawrence E. Bates

    Buried in 1990 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 79.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 785 records for Bates in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom196 records

196 records of the Bates name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 135
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 55
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Bates

    Buried in 1926 at Snowdon Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 55.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Willm Henry Bates

    Buried in 1822 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 21.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Harriet Elizabeth Bates

    Will proved in 1941; of Swansea, Glamorgan.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 196 records for Bates in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand91 records

91 records of the Bates name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 74
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 9
  • Other New Zealand records 8
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frank Silas Bates

    Died 1968, aged 82; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George W. Bates

    Buried in 1922 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 84.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph Clarke Bates

    Died 1986, aged 82; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 91 records for Bates in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands55 records

55 records of the Bates name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 31
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 17
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 7
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Diekien Bates

    Married in 1817 in Rolde; farmer.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Charles Bates

    Married in 1918 in 's-Gravenhage; "postbeambte".

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Cornelia Bates

    In the population register of Giessen; domestic servant, born in Rijswijk.

    Open Archives, Streekarchief Langstraat Heusden Altena (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 55 records for Bates in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France11 records

11 records of the Bates name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Rodolphe Lucien Antoine Bates

    Born 1938 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône); died 1997 in Maisons-Laffitte (Yvelines).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jacqueline Philomene Bates

    Born 1904 in Coye-la-Forêt (Oise); died 2000 in Arcachon (Gironde).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 11 records for Bates in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Bates name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list August Bates

    From Schwarzenbach, Kreis Birkenfeld. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 23 September 1914 (Infantry Regiment No. 166).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Bates in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bates.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bates is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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