The Slater surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 32,584 people carried this name — #1,075 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,050 people counted. That is up 3% from 31,569 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Slater surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

From Middle English Slatere, Slatare, Sclatere, from Middle English sclater (“slater”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Slater» (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 an occupational name: ‘the slater’.

An early record he cites: Adam le Sclattere, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Slater, Sclater and Slatter.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 696 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 39 people named Slater.

Most of them — 25 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 10 départements, most often Saône-et-Loire.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 25
Saône-et-Loire 3
Loire-Atlantique 2
Pas-de-Calais 2
Morbihan 1
Finistère 1
Paris 1
Essonne 1
La Réunion 1

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

39 people named Slater live in Switzerland.

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

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

Where they live today

Zurich 14
Geneva 6
Aargau 5
Bern 4
Valais 4
Basel-Landschaft 3
Basel-Stadt 3

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 Argentina’s national register

At least 30 people named Slater 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 17
City of Buenos Aires 13

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

In the Nordic population registers

34 people named Slater is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 34

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

Slater was found among the farmers of 8 counties.

It was most frequent in Derbyshire: 30 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 333. 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

Derbyshire 30
Cheshire 26
Lancashire 20
Nottinghamshire 20
Cambridgeshire 15
Staffordshire 14
Yorkshire, West Riding 10
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 9

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

Slater was recorded 51 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 513th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 76. 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

64 families named Slater, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 381 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 10 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 11
Virginia 11
Connecticut 10
New York 9
Maryland 8
North Carolina 7
Vermont 3
New Hampshire 2
Massachusetts 2
South Carolina 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. 262 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Slater in American newspapers,
1901–1913.

Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Slater
The Bossier Banner 1901-05-02
Newspaper page from Fergus County Democrat carrying the name Slater
Fergus County Democrat 1913-03-04
Newspaper page from Abbeville Progress carrying the name Slater
Abbeville Progress 1913-12-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,551 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Slater in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

96,874 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Slater. The most, 17,330, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 29,220
New South Wales 20,174
Queensland 16,319
South Australia 12,088
Western Australia 10,665
Tasmania 7,195
ACT (Canberra) 1,032
Northern Territory 44

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

Who carried it

People named Slater,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Slater
    Samuel Slater 1768–1835 · entrepreneur
  • James H. Slater
    James H. Slater 1826–1899 · lawyer
  • Matthew Bartendale Slater
    Matthew Bartendale Slater 1829–1918 · bryologist
  • Charles Eber Slater
    Charles Eber Slater 1830–1887 · politician
  • Henry H. Slater
    Henry H. Slater 1851–1934 · ornithologist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 239 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Slater,
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 States3,950 records

3,950 records of the Slater name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,061
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 993
  • Other U.S. records 1,896
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Henry W. Slater

    Born 1915 in Ohio. Enlisted 1945 at Baltimore, Maryland; plumber from Anne Arundel County, Maryland. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Crownsville Veterans Cemetery, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 George R. Slater

    Born 1908 in Louisiana. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Livingston; farmer from Union Parish. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1962, buried at Little Rock National Cemetery, Arkansas.

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

    Born 1947; from East Paterson, New Jersey. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 3,950 records for Slater 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia2,333 records

2,333 records of the Slater name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,083
  • Tasmanian Names Index 413
  • Other Australian records 837
  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 Slater

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Asia, sailing from Portsmouth in 1841. Native of Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Launceston, 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 Daniel Slater

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Medway, sailing from Downs in 1825. Native of Hazelwood, Derbyshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    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 Lubin Slater

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Lyndoch, sailing from London in 1836. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 34.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,333 records for Slater 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).

Canada383 records

383 records of the Slater name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 148
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 87
  • Other Canadian records 148
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Slater

    Came to Ontario in 1882 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Quebec, bound for Mono Road, Ontario; English.

    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 Simon Milton Slater

    Buried in 1976 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Kenneth Slater

    Buried in 1987 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 66.

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

Showing 3 of 383 records for Slater 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · 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. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. 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).

United Kingdom164 records

164 records of the Slater name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 121
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 17
  • Other British records 26
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Robert Slater

    Born 1877 at Lossiemouth; seaman. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Janet Slater

    Died 1957, aged 71; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. 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 John Slater

    Will proved in 1916; of Beaumaris, Anglesey.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 164 records for Slater 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 Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · 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: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands40 records

40 records of the Slater name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 21
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 14
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Malcolm Charles Slater

    Died 1972 in 's-Gravenhage; born in Milford Haven; mechanic.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Oliver Slater

    Married in 1945 in Nijmegen; miner.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Helen Slater

    Married in 1908 in Haastrecht.

    Open Archives, Streekarchief Midden-Holland (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 40 records for Slater in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand30 records

30 records of the Slater name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 23
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 4
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Slater

    Died 1898, aged 30; buried at Linwood Cemetery, 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 Jessie Slater

    Buried in 1974 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 79.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Victor Slater

    Born 1904, died 1982; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 30 records for Slater in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France8 records

8 records of the Slater 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 John Slater

    Born 1925 in Yenangyanng (Birmanie); died 1991 in Le Tampon (La Réunion).

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

    Born 1955 in Port-de-Bouc (Bouches-du-Rhône); died 1987 in Brest (Finistère).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 8 records for Slater 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Slater.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Slater 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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