An English and Scottish surname, Slater comes from the Middle English term ‘sclate’ and the Old French term ‘esclate’ which refer to a slate material. The spelling variations for Slater include Saltter, Sklater and Sclater. In England most of the country have Slater families. The most populated areas are in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the city of London. All of Scotland have the Slater name represented. Those regions with the higher population are the Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Banffshire, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Midlothian. Within the United States the original Slater families settled in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia. Famous: Duke Slater (professional football player), Stuart Slater (English musician), Jim Slater (professional ice hockey player), Simon Slater (English actor), Nigel Slater (English journalist and cooking expert), Samuel Slater (developed a water-powered cotton mill), Kelly Slater (professional surfer), Mary Jo Slater (movie producer and casting director), John Slater (arrived at the Virginia Colony from England in 1617), Helen Slater (singer, songwriter and actress), David Slater (singer), Dick Slater (professional wrestler), Christian Slater (film and television actor), Bert Slater (footballer from Scotland) and Gordon Slater (professional rugby player from New Zealand).