An English and Scottish surname the Tate family name comes from the Old English term of ‘tata’ which was another given or personal name.

Spelling variations for Tate include Tayte and Tait.

In England the Tate name is mostly in the northeastern region, especially in Yorkshire, Northumberland and Durham. Northern Ireland has many families with the Tate surname. In Scotland the Tate name is primarily in Lanarkshire and Peeblesshire. The surname also spread to Australia and Canada with English immigrants.

The Tate name is mostly in the southern states of the United States, especially in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Arkansas and then into Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Famous: Emory Tate (champion chess player), Frank Tate (professional boxer), Howard Tate (singer), William Tate (18th century portrait artist), Brent Tate rugby player from Australia), Drew Tate (professional football player), Jeffrey Tate (musician conductor from England) and Nick Tate (actor from Australia).