Bates
Bates is a common surname of English origin and is derived from the name Bartholomew. The name could also originate from the Old English "Bat", meaning "Boat", as used to identify a person whose occupation was. Another origin is that which means “lush pasture”, describing someone who lived near such a place.
At the time of the British Census of 1881, the relative frequency of the surname Bates was highest in Buckinghamshire, followed by Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire.
Notable people
A–D
- Alan Bates, British actor
- Albert Bates, U.S. environmentalist
- Allie Bates, U.S. magazine writer
- Alta Bates, American nurse anesthetist and founder of Alta Bates Hospital
- Angelique Bates, American actress
- Anna Haining Bates, Canadian woman who stood 7'5½"
- Arlo Bates, author and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Arthur Laban Bates, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1901–1913
- Barbara Bates, U.S. actress and singer
- Barrie Bates, Welsh darts player
- Benjamin Bates, one of several people including
- * Benjamin Bates IV, philanthropist, founder of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine
- Bill Bates, U.S. player of American football
- Billy Bates, English cricketer
- Blanche Bates, American stage actress
- Blaster Bates, British demolition expert
- Bob Bates, one of several people including
- * Bob Bates , first bassist of The Dave Brubeck Quartet, 1951–1958
- * Bob Bates, U.S. game designer
- Carl S. Bates, American aviation pioneer
- Cary Bates, American comic book writer
- Cat Bates, child model for Jamie Wyeth and younger brother of Orca Bates
- Charlotte Fiske Bates, American author
- Clara Doty Bates, American author
- Clayton Peg Leg Bates, American entertainer
- Daisy Bates, one of several people including
- * Daisy Bates , U.S. civil rights activist
- * Daisy Bates , Australian journalist
- David Bates, one of several people including
- * David Bates , historian, writer of books about William I of England and Odo of Bayeux
- * David Bates , physicist winner of the 1970 Hughes Medal
- * David Bates , U.S. poet
- Dick Bates, Major League Baseball pitcher
- D'Wayne Bates, U.S. player of American football
E–J
- Edward Bates, U.S. jurist and politician, candidate for US President, 1860, and US Attorney General, 1861–1864
- Elizabeth Bates, Professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego
- Emily Bates, Australian rules footballer
- Emoni Bates, American basketball player
- Erastus Newton Bates, American politician
- Evan Bates, American ice dancer
- Frederick Bates, U.S. jurist and politician
- George Joseph Bates, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1937–1949
- George Latimer Bates, American naturalist
- Gilbert Bates, Wisconsin Civil War veteran
- Granville Bates, American actor
- Guy Bates, English footballer
- H. E. Bates, English writer and author
- Harriet Bates, American writer
- Harry Bates, one of several people including
- * Harry Bates , British sculptor
- * Harry Bates , U.S. science fiction writer
- Henry Bates, one of several people including
- * Henry Bates, U.S. politician
- * Henry Moore Bates, American lawyer and president of the Order of the Coif
- * Henry Walter Bates, British zoologist
- * Henry Bates , British general.
- Isaac Chapman Bates, U.S. Representative, 1827–1835, and U.S. Senator 1841–1845, from Massachusetts
- James Bates, one of several people
- Jamie Bates, English welterweight kickboxer
- Jamie Bates , English footballer
- Jason Bates, U.S. professional baseball player
- Jeanne Bates, U.S. actress
- Jeff Bates, U.S. country singer
- Jeff Bates , U.S. businessman
- Jeremy Bates, one of several people including
- *Jeremy Bates , American football coach
- *Jeremy Bates , American boxer
- *Jeremy Bates , British tennis player
- Jessie Bates III, American football player
- Jim Bates, one of several people including
- * Jim Bates , U.S. Representative from California, 1983–91
- * Jim Bates , U.S. coach of American football
- John Bates, one of several people including
- * John Bates , who designed Diana Rigg's clothes in The Avengers
- *Big John Bates, Vancouver-based Americana guitarist
- * John C. Bates, U.S. general and army chief of staff 1906.
- * John Lewis Bates, U.S. political figure and governor of Massachusetts 1903–1905.
- * Johnny Bates , baseball player
- Joseph Bates, one of several people including
- * Joseph E. Bates, 19th-century mayor of Denver, Colorado
- * Joseph Bates , U.S. Adventist and health reformist
- Josephine White Bates, Canadian-born American author
- Joshua Bates, one of several people including
- * Joshua Bates , American minister and teacher
- * Joshua Bates , benefactor of Boston Public Library
- * Joshua Hall Bates, American Civil War general
- Juanita Breckenridge Bates, American Congregationalist minister and suffragette
K–R
- Katharine Lee Bates, U.S. poet
- Kathy Bates, U.S. actor
- Ken Bates, British businessman and football club owner/chairman
- Lindon Wallace Bates, Civil engineer who designed the "three-lakes" of the Panama Canal
- L. C. Bates, African-American civil rights activist
- Leon Bates , American pianist
- Leon Bates , UAW Union Organizer
- Leonard Bates, English cricketer
- Mario Bates, U.S. player of American football
- Marston Bates, U.S. zoologist
- Martha E. Cram Bates, writer, journalist, newspaper editor
- Martin Bates, one of several people including
- * Martin Van Buren Bates, U.S. politician
- * Martin W. Bates, U.S. Senator from Delaware
- Mason Bates, American composer
- Matthew Bates, English footballer
- Maxwell Bates, Canadian architect and artist
- Michael Bates, one of several people
- Mick Bates, one of several people
- Morris Bates, English footballer
- Nancy Bates, statistician with the US Census
- Nicholas James Bates, British musician known as Nick Rhodes
- Orca Bates, child model for Jamie Wyeth
- Paddy Roy Bates, pirate radio broadcaster and Sealand founder
- Patricia Martin Bates, artist
- Paul L. Bates, Colonel, United States Army
- Phil Bates, guitarist and vocalist with the Orchestra
- Ralph Bates, one of several people including
- * Ralph Bates , English writer
- * Ralph Bates, English actor
- Robert Bates, one of several people
- Roger Bates, American bridge player
- Ronald Bates, New York City Ballet production stage manager
- Ryan Bates, American football player
S–Z
- Samuel Penniman Bates, American educator
- Sara Bates, U.S. artist
- Shawn Bates, U.S. hockey player
- Sidney Bates, British soldier
- Simon Bates, British radio presenter
- Stuart 'Pinkie' Bates, organ/synthesizer player
- Stephen Bates Baltes, American musical director for "Barney and the Backyard Gang"
- Ted Bates , English footballer
- Thomas Bates, key conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605
- Tom Bates, U.S. politician
- Tyler Bates, U.S. musician
- Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller, U.S. singer
- William Bates, one of several people including
- * William Henry Bates, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1949–1970
- * William Horatio Bates, creator of the "Bates Method for Better Eyesight"
- Willis Bates, American college sports coach
Fictional characters
- Bates, a character in Stargate
- Kid Marvelman, a Marvel Comics character whose original name was Johnny Bates
- Eric, U.S. and Fancy Bates, characters in the 1982 film The Toy
- John Bates, a character from Downton Abbey, married to Anna
- Anna Bates, a character from Downton Abbey, married to John
- Joshua T. Bates, a character of Susan Shreve
- Nigel Bates, a character from the soap opera EastEnders
- Norman Bates, a character from the 1960 film Psycho
- Tom, Amy, and Pattie Bates, characters in Dennis Potter's play Brimstone and Treacle