The Coats surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,943 people carried this name — #2,286 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 15,265 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Coats surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the cote’.

An early record he cites: Egidius de Cotes, Norfolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Coates and Coats.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 188 · public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Coats was recorded 19 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1203rd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 17. 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

105 families named Coats, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 615 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

Pennsylvania 30
Connecticut 17
South Carolina 14
Virginia 12
Massachusetts 9
North Carolina 9
New York 5
Maryland 4
Rhode Island 3
Maine 1
Vermont 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. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Coats in American newspapers,
1905–1924.

Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name Coats
Okolona Messenger 1905-08-09
Newspaper page from The Producers News carrying the name Coats
The Producers News 1924-10-17
Newspaper page from The Port Gibson Reveille carrying the name Coats
The Port Gibson Reveille 1907-10-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,041 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Coats in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

6,581 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Coats. The most, 1,365, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 1,903
Victoria 1,739
New South Wales 1,285
Queensland 761
Western Australia 416
Tasmania 405
ACT (Canberra) 53
Northern Territory 7

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

Who carried it

People named Coats,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Helen Elizabeth Coats d. 1948
  • Catherine Roseline Ratcliffe Hinton d. 2007
  • Margaret Coats d. 1946
  • Jeannie Coats d. 1931
  • Israel Coats d. 1764
  • Nora Pountney d. 1948

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

In the public record

People named Coats,
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 States1,013 records

1,013 records of the Coats name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 493
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 224
  • Other U.S. records 296
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lemuel C. Coats

    Born 1908 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Jackson Columbia; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Shamrock Bapt Church Cemetery, Bethune, South Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles Thomas Coats

    Born 1949; from Klamath Falls, Oregon. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johanna Coats

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the New World from Liverpool, aged 19; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,013 records for Coats 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) · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia193 records

193 records of the Coats name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 103
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 52
  • Other Australian records 38
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Charles Henry Coats

    Died 1933 in Tasmania, aged 61. Will registered in Tasmania in 1933.

    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 George Coats

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Lady Nugent, arriving 1835; certificate of freedom 1841.

    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 Louis Coats

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Mobile, aged 20; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 193 records for Coats 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (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).

Canada25 records

25 records of the Coats name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 15
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • Other Canadian records 5
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alex Coats

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Texas, landing at Quebec, bound for Collingwood, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Douglas Richard Proctor Coats

    Buried in 1973 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 81.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  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 Vernon Charles Coats

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 25 records for Coats 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom16 records

16 records of the Coats name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 5
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Andrew Coats

    Died 1892, aged 50; buried at Kilmadock Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Robert Coats

    Will proved in 1938; of Swansea, Glamorgan.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Alexander Hamilton Coats

    Born 1896. Served in the First World War. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Coats in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand5 records

5 records of the Coats name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Mervyn Coats

    Died 1998, aged 70; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record G. Coats

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mornaroa Jessie Coats

    Died 2000, aged 66; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Coats in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Coats 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 Kendall Wade Coats

    Born 1928 in the United States; died 2000 in Tours (Indre-et-Loire).

    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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Coats name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Nicolas Coats

    Married in 1637 in Bergen op Zoom; born in England.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Coats.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Coats 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.

See the Coats volume
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