2000
#1,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,894
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.75
Uncommon Last name
Cote
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a slope, riverbank, or dike.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,387 Americans carry the last name Cote. That puts it at #1,720 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,656 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cote 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 Cote with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,656
Census rank
#1,720
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,395 bearers of the surname Cote in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1720th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cote, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cote
The surname Cote is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "coste" meaning "side" or "slope." It is believed to have originated as a toponymic surname, referring to people who lived near a hillside or slope.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Cote date back to the 12th century in Normandy, France. It is mentioned in several medieval records, including the Exchequer Rolls of Normandy in 1180.
In England, the name Cote is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, indicating the presence of Norman settlers with this surname shortly after the Norman Conquest. The Domesday Book mentions a Radulfus Cote holding lands in Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Cote was Robert de Cote, who lived in Buckinghamshire, England, in the 13th century. Another notable early bearer was Sir John Cote, a member of the English gentry in the 14th century.
The name Cote is also associated with several place names in England, such as Cotesbach in Leicestershire and Cote Bruern in Oxfordshire. These place names likely originated from the Old English word "cot," meaning a small dwelling or shelter, combined with other descriptive elements.
In Scotland, the surname Cote is found in various spellings, including Coats, Coatts, and Cottis. One of the earliest recorded Scottish bearers was John Cote, who was listed in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Cote. One of them was Jacques Cote (1670-1748), a French-Canadian explorer and fur trader who played a significant role in the early exploration of the Canadian West.
Another notable bearer was Jean-Baptiste Cote (1730-1800), a French-Canadian painter and sculptor known for his religious artwork in the churches of Quebec.
In the United States, the surname Cote is associated with several prominent figures, including Samuel Prentiss Cote (1862-1921), a U.S. Congressman from New York, and Robert Cote (1917-1995), a political activist and labor organizer.
Overall, the surname Cote has a rich history spanning several centuries and regions, with its origins rooted in the French language and Norman heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cote
Among Census respondents with the surname Cote, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cote 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 Cote surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 18,498
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 816
- Two or more races3.5% · 722
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 172
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 112
- Black or African American0.4% · 75
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cote
Cote 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
#1,681
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,446
+552 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 7.27
Rank movement Down 106 places
2020
#1,720
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,395
-1,051 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 6.82
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,575 | 20,894 | 7.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,681 | 21,446 | 7.27 | +552 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 106 places |
| 2020 | #1,720 | 20,395 | 6.82 | -1,051 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 39 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 Cote 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 | #1,681 | #1,720 | -2.3% |
| Count | 21,446 | 20,395 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 7.27 | 6.82 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cote bearers went from 21,446 to 20,395 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,681 to #1,720.
FAQ
Cote surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cote?
Name Census estimates that about 23,387 living Americans carry the surname Cote. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,656 residents.
How common is Cote?
Cote ranks #1,720 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,395 people with the surname Cote. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,387), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Cote.
Has Cote become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cote went from 21,446 recorded bearers to 20,395. That is a decrease of 1,051 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,681 to #1,720.
What does the Census say about the background of Cote?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cote, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Cote in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (18,498 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cote appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Cote (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 Cote mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a slope, riverbank, or dike. 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 Cote (6.82 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 people have the last name Cote?
Want to know how many people have the last name Cote? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.