Gates Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Gates last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Gates last name
Meaning of the Gates last name: dweller by the gates. Gates is an English surname for someone who lived by the gates of a town or enclosure, or who kept them, the -s meaning "of the gates". In the north the word could mix with Old Norse gata, "street". The last name is most common in southern and eastern England. A curious detail: Gates families were among the early English settlers of New England, and the name later spread across the whole United States.
Arms associated with the Gates name
In English heraldry gold stood for generosity and blue for loyalty, and coats of arms associated with the Gates name speak that old language of colour.
Get your full Gates family history
This is only a glimpse of the Gates story. The full Gates history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Gates coat of arms. Get the full Gates report.
Gates name FAQ
What does the Gates name mean?
Dweller by the gates. Common variants include Gate, Yates, Gaites.
Where does the Gates surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Gates coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Gates coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).