Coate (surname)

Coate is a surname of multiple purposed origins, most of which from Old and Middle English. It may have begun as a way to refer to someone who dwelled in a small cottage, potentially coming from the surname Cot.^[1] It is also said to have emerged as a locational surname for people from various locations in Britain that have names derived from the word cottage, such as Coat, Somerset, Coate, Wiltshire, and Cote, Oxfordshire.^[2] These instances could be closely connected to the surname Coates, as the two surnames would morph into each other due to pluralization and singularization.^[3] In addition to words for cottages, Coate may derive from Old English terms for animal pens, potentially denoting a connection or proximity to an enclosure for livestock.^[4] It is theorized that the name owes some of its prevalence to association with the garment coat.^[5]

The surname can also occur as the result of the Americanization of similar sounding German surnames, such as Koth.^[3]

Nationally, the United States has the most recorded instances of people with the surname Coate, and Australia has the highest proportion of its population that bears the surname.^[6]

Notable people with the surname include:

• Edward Coate (1908–1995), Australian military aviator
• Jennifer Coate (born 1953), Australian jurist
• John Coate (born 1951), American media executive
• Mary Coate (1886–1972), English historian
• Randoll Coate (1909–2005), British diplomat and maze designer
• Roger A. Coate, American political scientist
• Roland Coate (1890–1958), American architect
• Stephen Coate, British-American economist
• Winifred Coate (1893–1977), British missionary