Chate Family History

Perhaps a variant of Chatt. Note that Catt is strongly present in East Sussex. If so, the original short vowel has been lengthened, perhaps through the influence of Old French chate ‘she-cat’. This would be a nickname, but Johannes Chete 1379 in Poll Tax (Steyning and Bramber boroughs, Sussex) occurs in the same part of Sussex as Chate.

Chate and Chete, with the lengthening of the vowel, could both derive from a Middle English personal name *Chat(te) or *Chet(te) (Old English C(e)atta), an alternative source of Catt and Chatt. Although there is no direct evidence of Chate as a variant of Chatt in Sussex, it does occur in NE England.

See Chatt and compare John Chate 1674, Jane Chatt 1746 in IGI (Whickham, Durham); Nicholas Chate 1792, John Chatt 1793 in IGI (Allendale, Northumberland).