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Goates Family History

Goates Name Meaning

English: variant of Goate with plural or post-medieval excrescent -s from Middle English gote occasionally got(te) ‘watercourse channel stream’ (Old English gota) a topographic name denoting someone who lived by a watercourse or a habitational name from a place so named such as East Goit (East Yorkshire) Goat Farm in Ringmer (Sussex) or Goat Farm in Streat (Sussex). This element is widely found in minor placenames in northern England where it survives as dialect gote goit. Alternatively Goate may derive from Middle English got(e) ‘goat’ (Old English gāt) either as an occupational name for someone who looked after goats or as a nickname for someone who resembled a goat in some way; the animal was associated with lascivious behaviour.

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


Similar surnames: Gates, Coates, Goes, Cates, Gotts, Oates, Gales, Noakes, Oakes

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Goates family from?

You can see how Goates families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Goates family name was found in the USA, the UK, and Canada between 1880 and 1920. The most Goates families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 13 Goates families living in Ontario. This was about 72% of all the recorded Goates's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Goates families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Goates surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Goates ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Goates. 31% of Goates men worked as a Laborer and 34% of Goates women worked as a Housewife. Some less common occupations for Americans named Goates were Salesman and Saleslady. .

View Census Data for Goates | 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.

United States shown, Canada data unavailable

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    31%
  • Farmer
    25%
  • Carpenter
    9%
  • Salesman
    9%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housewife
    34%
  • Helper
    34%
  • Saleslady
    34%
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What Goates family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 4,000 census records available for the last name Goates. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Goates census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Goates

Passenger Lists

There are 388 immigration records available for the last name Goates. 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.

View all Goates immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 487 military records available for the last name Goates. For the veterans among your Goates ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Goates lifespan?

Between 1962 and 2004, in the United States, Goates life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1968, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Goates in 1962 was 78, and 85 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Goates

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