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Name Lineage

    The surname Bates

    A patronymic surname, carried by 95,622 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /beɪts/ 1 syllable Soundex B320

    Bates: #325 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Bates #325, 95,622 people Bates: #325 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Bates #325, 95,622 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bates is more common than 99.8% of them.

    Origin

    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".

    Bates is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 95,622 people named Bates in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,229 Americans. That is up 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 93,743.

    #325
    rank among US surnames
    95,622
    people in 2010
    32
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2%
    change since 2000 (was #293)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #316Figueroa98,4683,135
    #317Keller98,2683,142
    #318Avila97,3143,173
    #319Wade97,0403,182
    #320Molina96,9793,184
    #321Stanley96,8673,187
    #322Hopkins96,8103,189

    Who is named Bates

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    75% of people named Bates identified as white (not Hispanic), 19% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 75%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 19%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 2.0%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Batess

    36 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Kathy Bates
      American film actress and director, born 1948
    • Tyler Bates
      American musician, music producer, film score composer, born 1965
    • Katharine Lee Bates
      American poet and songwriter (1859-1929)
    • Barbara Bates
      American actress (1925–1969)
    • Evan Bates
      American ice dancer, born 1989
    • William Bates
      American ophthalmologist (1860-1931)
    • Ken Bates
      British businessman (1931-2026)
    • Jeanne Bates
      American actress (1918-2007)
    • Florence Bates
      American actress; lawyer (1888–1954)
    • George Latimer Bates
      American naturalist (1863-1940)
    • Edward Bates
      American politician, lawyer and judge (1793-1869)
    • Daisy Bates
      American civil rights activist (1914–1999)

    Notable Batess come mostly from the United States (31), Australia (3) and the United Kingdom (2).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Bates

    Bates has the Soundex code B320, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B320.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Bates come from?
    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".
    How common is the surname Bates?
    95,622 people in the United States had the surname Bates in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,229 Americans. It ranked 325th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Bates?
    In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Bates identified as white (not Hispanic), and 19% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Bates?
    Kathy Bates, American film actress and director, followed by Tyler Bates.
    Where is the surname Bates most common?
    Wikidata records people named Bates in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
    How do you pronounce Bates?
    Bates is /beɪts/, one syllable.
    What type of surname is Bates?
    Bates is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Bates getting more or less common?
    More common. 93,743 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 95,622 in 2010, up 2.0%.