Given name & surname
Yates
“keeper of the gates”
Yates is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “keeper of the gates.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “keeper of the gates.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Yates through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 517
- 517 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 16 babies
- 2025
- 14
- #6,434 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 14 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,434 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 377 as a first name in 2020; 60,581 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Yates’s family of names
Yates has a related form in Yaites. Yates has a related form in Yaits. Yates has a related form in Yaytes.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Yates, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gaines
“one who acquires”
>99% boys
Elden
“an old friend”
>99% boys
Earl
“a nobleman”
>99% boys
Elroy
“a red-haired young man” · “a king”
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Elton
“a spontaneous woman” · “from the old town”
99% boys · 1% girls
Ernest
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
>99% boys
Erwin
“a friend of the wild boar”
>99% boys
Olin
“filled with happiness”
>99% boys