2000
#1,844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,907
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.64
Uncommon Last name
Cates
Derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "cat," referring to a person who lived near a thicket or low shrub.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,000 Americans carry the last name Cates. That puts it at #2,024 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,138 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cates surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cates with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,138
Census rank
#2,024
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,441 bearers of the surname Cates in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2024th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cates, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cates
The surname CATES is of English origin, derived from a place name in the county of Gloucestershire. The name is believed to have originated in the 13th century from the Old English words "cæt" meaning "cat" and "hyll" meaning "hill," referring to a hill where wildcats were found.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1327, which mention a John de Cathull. This spelling variation suggests that the name was initially associated with a particular location before evolving into its modern form.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records, including the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1446, which listed a Robert Cathull. During this period, the name was also found in other counties, such as Somerset and Wiltshire, indicating that families bearing the name had begun to spread across different regions.
Notable individuals with the surname CATES include:
1. John Cates (c. 1480-1545), an English merchant and alderman of London, who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1542-1543.
2. William Cates (c. 1550-1617), an English scholar and clergyman, who was the Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge from 1599 until his death.
3. Elizabeth Cates (1592-1654), an English Puritan settler in America, who was one of the first European women to give birth in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
4. Thomas Cates (1677-1746), a British naval officer who served as the Governor of the Bahamas from 1732 to 1734.
5. Mary Cates (1744-1821), a British author and poet, known for her work "The Village Curate," published in 1789.
While the CATES surname originated in a specific region of England, it has since spread globally and can be found in various countries, reflecting the migration patterns of families bearing this name throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cates
Among Census respondents with the surname Cates, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cates bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cates surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.9% · 14,453
- Black or African American7.0% · 1,224
- Two or more races4.4% · 761
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 703
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 142
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cates
Cates appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,984
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,190
+283 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 6.17
Rank movement Down 140 places
2020
#2,024
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,441
-749 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 5.84
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,844 | 17,907 | 6.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,984 | 18,190 | 6.17 | +283 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 140 places |
| 2020 | #2,024 | 17,441 | 5.84 | -749 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 40 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cates surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,984 | #2,024 | -2.0% |
| Count | 18,190 | 17,441 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 6.17 | 5.84 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cates bearers went from 18,190 to 17,441 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,984 to #2,024.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cates
FAQ
Cates surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cates?
Name Census estimates that about 20,000 living Americans carry the surname Cates. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,138 residents.
How common is Cates?
Cates ranks #2,024 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,441 people with the surname Cates. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,000), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Cates.
Has Cates become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cates went from 18,190 recorded bearers to 17,441. That is a decrease of 749 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,984 to #2,024.
What does the Census say about the background of Cates?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cates, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cates in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (14,453 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cates appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.9%), Black (7.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cates (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cates mean?
Derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "cat," referring to a person who lived near a thicket or low shrub. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cates (5.84 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Cates?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.