The Yates surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 63,254 people carried this name — #535 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,660 people counted. That is up 3% from 61,400 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Yates surname

From the Old English surname, from yate, obsolete form of gate.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Yates» (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 local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the gate’.

An early record he cites: Adam atte Yate, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Yate and Yates.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 833 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

40 people named Yates live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

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

Where they live today

Vaud 13
Zurich 8
Bern 6
Basel-Landschaft 6
Fribourg 4
Valais 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 France’s civil register

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

Most of them — 36 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 1 département, most often Paris.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 36
Paris 3

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

In the Nordic population registers

45 people named Yates is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 45

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

Yates was found among the farmers of 7 counties.

It was most frequent in Lancashire: 27 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 370. 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

Lancashire 27
Derbyshire 25
Buckinghamshire 18
Shropshire 17
Herefordshire 14
Staffordshire 14
Cheshire 12

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

Yates was recorded 33 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 744th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 44. 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

137 families named Yates, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 771 people lived in those households, 5.6 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

North Carolina 35
New York 34
Virginia 24
Maryland 21
Connecticut 6
South Carolina 5
Maine 3
Massachusetts 3
Rhode Island 3
Pennsylvania 2
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. 270 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Yates in American newspapers,
1900–1923.

Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Yates
The Salt Lake Herald 1900-11-16
Newspaper page from The Commercial carrying the name Yates
The Commercial 1913-07-18
Newspaper page from The Milwaukee Leader carrying the name Yates
The Milwaukee Leader 1923-10-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Yates in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

100,723 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Yates. The most, 18,954, date from the 1930s. 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 South Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 36,863
South Australia 17,871
Victoria 16,208
Queensland 13,430
Western Australia 9,259
Tasmania 5,677
ACT (Canberra) 1,037
Northern Territory 131

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

Who carried it

People named Yates,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Richard Yates
    Richard Yates 1706–1796 · stage actor
  • Abraham Yates, Jr.
    Abraham Yates, Jr. 1724–1796 · lawyer
  • Mary Anne Yates
    Mary Anne Yates 1728–1787 · actor
  • Joseph Christopher Yates
    Joseph Christopher Yates 1768–1837 · judge
  • Joseph Brooks Yates
    Joseph Brooks Yates 1780–1855 · merchant

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 229 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Yates,
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 States4,847 records

4,847 records of the Yates name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,107
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 821
  • Other U.S. records 1,919
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Clyde Yates

    Born 1950; from Hondo, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Pearl E. Yates

    Born 1921 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1946 in the Women's Army Corps at Fort Bragg; practical nurse. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, buried at Marietta National Cemetery, Georgia.

    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 Ben J. Yates

    Born 1930; from Lincoln County, Nebraska. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea. Buried at Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Nebraska.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 4,847 records for Yates in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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. 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) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). 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).

Australia2,467 records

2,467 records of the Yates name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,128
  • Tasmanian Names Index 573
  • Other Australian records 766
  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 Jabez Yates

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Asia, sailing from Portsmouth in 1827. Native of Birmingham, Warwickshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837. Married 1837 in Hamilton, 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 Mary Ann Yates

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lloyds, sailing from London in 1845. Native of Salford, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 30.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Fred Yates

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Austral, aged 23; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,467 records for Yates 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada327 records

327 records of the Yates name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 150
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 57
  • Other Canadian records 120
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record George Roley Yates

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 22.

    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 John Yates

    Came to Ontario in 1871 aboard the Scan, bound for Hamilton, 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 Florence Jessie Yates

    Buried in 1993 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 87.

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

Showing 3 of 327 records for Yates 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. · 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. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · 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: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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 Kingdom147 records

147 records of the Yates name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 100
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 19
  • Other British records 28
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Jas Squair Yates

    Born 1892 at Elgin. Died 1915. 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 Sarah Duncan Morrison Yates

    Buried in 1996 at Gartmore Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 80.

    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 Mary Anne Yates

    Will proved in 1905; of Llandudno, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 147 records for Yates 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. · 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: 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).

New Zealand51 records

51 records of the Yates name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 48
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Yates

    Died 1912, aged 72; buried at Rutherford 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 Norman Yates

    Buried in 1946 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 41.

    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 Edward Thomas Yates

    Died 1961, aged 81; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 51 records for Yates in New Zealand.

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

France8 records

8 records of the Yates 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 Joseph Yates

    Born 1909 in the United Kingdom; died 1990 in Cavalaire-sur-Mer (Var).

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

    Born 1922 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Auch (Gers).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 8 records for Yates 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).

Netherlands4 records

4 records of the Yates name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Francis Joseph Yates

    In the population register of Manchester (Gb); student, born 1907 in Manchester (Gb).

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Yates

    Married in 1947 in Assen.

    Open Archives, Drents Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Yates in the Netherlands.

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

Norway3 records

3 records of the Yates name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Herbert Yates

    Census of 1910: Onsrud, Snertingdalen; born 1903 in America.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Petra Yates

    Census of 1910: Onsrud, Snertingdalen; born 1881 in Snertingdalen.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Yates in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Yates.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Yates 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 Yates volume
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