The Cater surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,926 people carried this name — #8,419 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 75,200 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,759 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cater surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

Occupational surname, from cater, obsolete form of caterer.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cater» (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 name of office: ‘the cater’.

An early record he cites: William le Catur, Essex, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Cater, Cator and Caterer.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 164 · public domain.

In national population registers

292 people named Cater is counted in Slovenia.

Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.

Counted, by country

Slovenia (2026) 292

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Cater in American newspapers,
1903–1921.

Newspaper page from The Neshoba Democrat carrying the name Cater
The Neshoba Democrat 1916-09-28
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Cater
The Montgomery Advertiser 1921-06-21
Newspaper page from The Princeton Union carrying the name Cater
The Princeton Union 1903-10-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 725 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cater in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

10,052 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cater. The most, 1,609, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,162
Victoria 1,866
Queensland 1,172
South Australia 1,133
Tasmania 443
Western Australia 146
ACT (Canberra) 120
Northern Territory 5

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

Who carried it

People named Cater,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Cater 1672–1734 · politician
  • Charles Joseph Cater 1788–1845 · naval officer
  • Richard B. Cater 1791–1850 · Christian minister
  • Alexander Cater 1880–1957 · diplomat
  • Alexander Cater 1880–1957 · diplomat
  • Alexander Cater 1880–1957 · diplomat

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cater,
in the records of 7 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 States318 records

318 records of the Cater name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 132
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 48
  • Other U.S. records 138
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gladys M. Cater

    Born 1900 in Iowa. Enlisted 1944 in the Women's Army Corps at Los Angeles, California; accountant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1902 aboard the Nord America from Genoa, aged 17; porter. From Santa Caterina, Cosenza, Italy.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Monroe Cater

    Born 1930; from Richland County, Louisiana. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 318 records for Cater in the United States.

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

Australia208 records

208 records of the Cater name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 114
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 39
  • Other Australian records 55
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Cater

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1847 in Bothwell, Tasmania, aged 31.

    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 Cater

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Aurora, arriving 1833; ticket of leave 1838.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Harriet Cater

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Kent, aged 35; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 208 records for Cater in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands51 records

51 records of the Cater name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 42
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catharina Cater

    Married in 1835 in Amsterdam; "petjesmaakster".

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Willem Hendrik Cater

    Died 1816 in Nijmegen, aged 80.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Grietje Tiemens Cater

    Died 1838 in Noord; born 1755 in Hoogeveen.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 51 records for Cater 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada26 records

26 records of the Cater name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 8
  • Other Canadian records 8
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Phoebe Cater

    Buried in 1959 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 79.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Phoebe Cater

    Died 1959 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Thomas Cater

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 26 records for Cater in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom18 records

18 records of the Cater name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 11
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 5
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry James Cater

    Died 1888, aged 35; buried at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    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 John Alex R. Cater

    Buried in 1799 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 52.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Cater

    Bedfordshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 18 records for Cater 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. · 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand13 records

13 records of the Cater name in New Zealand
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 6
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 5
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frederick Cater

    Buried in 1912 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 74.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Walter Cater

    Died 1952, aged 53; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Marie Thelma Cater

    Died 1985, aged 76; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Cater in New Zealand.

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Cater 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 Yvette Odette Cater

    Born 1910 in Tergnier; died 1991 in Quessy (Aisne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cater.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cater 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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