Coats
Usually a locational surname from someone who lived at or near cottages or a place called Coates.
The #2,286 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,366 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from Middle English coates or cote, meaning a cottage, hut, or small dwelling. It was likely first used for someone who lived “at the cote” or came from one of several places named Coates. The place-name itself goes back to Old English and related northern forms with the same basic sense of a small house or shelter.
History
Bardsley treats Coats and Coates as local surnames, connecting them with cottages and with places named Coates such as the township in Staffordshire. The spelling varies historically between Coats, Coates, and related forms, which is common for surnames built from place-names and everyday vocabulary. In modern English-speaking countries, Coats is the most familiar short form, while Coates is a close and often related variant.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the surname looks exactly like the everyday word coats, it has often been read as an occupational name, but the older evidence points more strongly to a place-based origin.
From the historical record
“London, 1,5; Cornwall CooTI Dii., 1,6. Coat«, Coates, Coats.— Local, (1) ' at the cote ' or 'cotes,' i.e. cottages ; (a) ' of Cotes,' a township in the parish of Eccle- shall, CD. Stafford ; also a hamlet”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances