Bates

Bates is a common surname of English origin and is derived from the name Bartholomew.[1] The name could also originate from the Old English "Bat", meaning "Boat",[2] as used to identify a person whose occupation was boatman.[3] Another origin is that which means “lush pasture”, describing someone who lived near such a place.[3] At the time of the British Census of 1881,[1] the relative frequency of the surname Bates was highest in Buckinghamshire (5.2 times the British average), followed by Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire.