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 boatman. 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.
