# Slater (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/slater/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an occupation.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 32,584 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,075 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,475 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.2% (31,569 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Slator, Slatter |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named Slater in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 79% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 15% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Slater in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Slater

- Christian Slater, American actor and producer (born 1969)
- Helen Slater, American actress, singer-songwriter
- Heath Slater, American professional wrestler and actor
- John C. Slater, American physicist (1900–1976)
- Kelly Slater, American surfer (born 1972)
- Harriet Slater, British actress
- Jeremy Slater, American screenwriter
- Robbie Slater, Australian association football player
- Ethan Slater, American actor and singer
- Norman Slater, American rugby union player (1894-1979)
- Colby Slater, American rugby union player (1896-1965)
- Dick Slater, American professional wrestler (1951-2018)

and 5 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Slaughter, Salter, Slattery, Soltero, Sluder, Slider, Saulter, Salters, Schluter, Schlatter, Schlater, Showalter.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.