How common is the surname Slater?

32,584 people in the United States had the surname Slater in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,475 Americans. It ranked 1,075th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Slater?

Christian Slater, American actor and producer (born 1969), followed by Helen Slater.

Where is the surname Slater most common?

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

Is the surname Slater getting more or less common?

More common. 31,569 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 32,584 in 2010, up 3.2%.

The surname Slater

An English occupational surname, carried by 32,584 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S436

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Slater is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Slater is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 32,584 people named Slater in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,475 Americans. That is up 3.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 31,569.

#1,075

rank among US surnames

32,584

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.2%

change since 2000 (was #1,013)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,066	Carney	32,897	9,385
#1,067	Barrios	32,873	9,392
#1,068	Bolton	32,815	9,409
#1,069	Holman	32,788	9,416
#1,070	Tovar	32,760	9,424
#1,071	Cardona	32,727	9,434
#1,072	Dailey	32,719	9,436

Who is named Slater

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

79% of people named Slater identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Slaters

17 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Christian Slater
American actor and producer (born 1969)
Helen Slater
American actress, singer-songwriter, born 1963
Heath Slater
American professional wrestler and actor, born 1983
John C. Slater
American physicist (1900–1976)
Kelly Slater
American surfer (born 1972)
Harriet Slater
British actress, born 1994
Jeremy Slater
American screenwriter, born 1978
Robbie Slater
Australian association football player, born 1964
Ethan Slater
American actor and singer, born 1992
Norman Slater
American rugby union player (1894-1979)
Colby Slater
American rugby union player (1896-1965)
Dick Slater
American professional wrestler (1951-2018)

Notable Slaters come mostly from the United States (15), the United Kingdom (1) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Slator
Slatter

Surnames that sound like Slater

Slater has the Soundex code S436, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S436.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Slater come from?: From Middle English Slatere, Slatare, Sclatere, from Middle English sclater (“slater”).
How common is the surname Slater?: 32,584 people in the United States had the surname Slater in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,475 Americans. It ranked 1,075th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Slater?: In the 2010 Census, 79% of people named Slater identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Slater?: Christian Slater, American actor and producer (born 1969), followed by Helen Slater.
Where is the surname Slater most common?: Wikidata records people named Slater in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
What type of surname is Slater?: Slater is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Slater getting more or less common?: More common. 31,569 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 32,584 in 2010, up 3.2%.
What are other spellings of Slater?: Slator and Slatter.