How common is the surname Cates?

18,190 people in the United States had the surname Cates in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,973 Americans. It ranked 1,984th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cates?

Phoebe Cates, American actress, model, and entrepreneur, followed by Darlene Cates.

Where is the surname Cates most common?

Wikidata records people named Cates in the United States.

Is the surname Cates getting more or less common?

More common. 17,907 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,190 in 2010, up 1.6%.

The surname Cates

A surname, carried by 18,190 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex C320

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cates is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 18,190 people named Cates in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,973 Americans. That is up 1.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,907.

#1,984

rank among US surnames

18,190

people in 2010

6.2

per 100,000 Americans

+1.6%

change since 2000 (was #1,844)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,975	Wilkes	18,314	16,858
#1,976	Lopes	18,310	16,862
#1,977	Richey	18,296	16,875
#1,978	Oh	18,285	16,885
#1,979	Keyes	18,252	16,916
#1,980	Dill	18,215	16,950
#1,981	Humphries	18,201	16,963

Who is named Cates

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

87% of people named Cates identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 87%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Catess

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Phoebe Cates
American actress, model, and entrepreneur, born 1963
Darlene Cates
American actress (1947-2017)
Gilbert Cates
American film director and television producer (1934–2011)
Challen Cates
American actress, born 1969

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cates

Cates has the Soundex code C320, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C320.

Questions

How common is the surname Cates?: 18,190 people in the United States had the surname Cates in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,973 Americans. It ranked 1,984th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cates?: In the 2010 Census, 87% of people named Cates identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Cates?: Phoebe Cates, American actress, model, and entrepreneur, followed by Darlene Cates.
Where is the surname Cates most common?: Wikidata records people named Cates in the United States.
Is the surname Cates getting more or less common?: More common. 17,907 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,190 in 2010, up 1.6%.