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Coates Family History

Coates Name Meaning

English: habitational name from any of numerous places called Coates for example in Cambridgeshire Gloucestershire Lincolnshire Nottinghamshire Shropshire Sussex and Wiltshire; Cotes in Leicestershire or Staffordshire; or possibly from Coat in Somerset Cote in Oxford and Yorkshire with excrescent -s; or possibly from any of numerous other places similarly named from the new Middle English plural form cotes of Old English cot (plural cotu) ‘cottage’ also ‘shelter’ and sometimes ‘woodman's hut’. It is possible that some bearers may be from a place whose current name is from the dative plural form of this word cotum for example Coatham (Durham) or Cottam Cotham (Nottinghamshire) or from the plural of the related weak noun cote plural coten. Cotham (Nottinghamshire) is early recorded as Cotes and Coton (Cambridgeshire Derbyshire Northamptonshire) have many similar spellings. See also Coate . There are very small places in Midlothian East Lothian and Fife called Coates but the surname seems rarely if ever to be Scottish in origin. Americanized form of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Kotz or perhaps German Koths .

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Goates, Coate, Gates, Cortes, Cater, Cates, Coats, Corte, Oates

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Where is the Coates family from?

You can see how Coates families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Coates family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Coates families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 262 Coates families living in Ontario. This was about 47% of all the recorded Coates's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Coates families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Coates surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Coates ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Coates. 39% of Coates men worked as a Farmer and 13% of Coates women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Coates were Salesman and Income. .

View Census Data for Coates | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    39%
  • Laborer
    6%
  • Labourer
    6%
  • Salesman
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Stenographer
    13%
  • Student
    11%
  • Nurse
    11%
  • Income
    8%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Coates family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 292,000 census records available for the last name Coates. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Coates census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 30,000 immigration records available for the last name Coates. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 35,000 military records available for the last name Coates. For the veterans among your Coates ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Coates lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Coates life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Coates in 1940 was 53, and 72 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Coates

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