What We Know About the Cotes Surname

Search old registers for Cotes and you will soon meet Coates too. Surname dictionaries give the meaning as “Dweller at the cottages”.

Heraldry and the Cotes name

Arms linked to Coates and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to.

How the spelling arose

Before spelling was fixed, Coates was also written Cotes.

Spanish register data show 472 residents carrying Cotes as first surname, and 515 as second surname. Spaniards carry two surnames, one from each parent, which is why Cotes is counted in both positions. French civil records give 104 births under the name Cotes from 1891 to 2000, peaking in 1961–1970. Want more than a summary? See the Cotes family name pack.