YEATS
**Yeats** is a surname of both English and Scottish provenance, and it is also prominent in Ireland. The name appears to have arisen as a topographical label in early medieval Britain, denoting a person who lived near, worked at, or was responsible for a gate – the Middle‑English word *yate* or *yates* meaning “gate” is the etymological root.
In the eastern parts of the British Isles, the surname is recorded in the Anglo‑Saxon Charters of 779 A.D. as aet Gete, a purely descriptive term. Hereditary use of the name did not emerge until the early medieval period, with the first authentic entries being those of Philip del Yate in the pipe rolls of Cheshire (1260) and Robert atte Yates in the Assize Rolls of Norfolk (1344). Later documentary evidence includes Edwarde Yates in Yorkshire (1583), Lawrence Yate of Nether Darwen (1606), and John Yeats of St Georges Chapel, London (1753).
During the 17th century the surname was also recorded in a trans‑Atlantic context. A Mr Yates appears in the 1624 registers of Elizabeth Cittie, Virginea, making him one of the earliest settlers who bore the name in the American colonies. In Ireland, the spelling Yeats gained prominence through the family of William Butler Yeats, the eminent poet and playwright of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who was born in Dublin.
The Irish connection to the name Yeats is linguistically layered. It is an anglicised form of the Gaelic surnames *Mac Ioddha* and *Ó hÍceadha*, both of which are associated with the sept *Mac Ciotach* of the Corca Baiscinn people of western County Clare. The Gaelic word *yeat* means “wood” or “forest”, thereby suggesting that early bearers of the name may have lived in or worked within woodland regions. The surname has persisted throughout Ireland, particularly in Connacht, where it remains a symbol of the country’s rich cultural heritage.
Variant spellings appear throughout the historical record, including Yates, Yeatman, Yeardley, Yeats, Yeates, Yetts, Gate, Gayte, Gates and several others that stem from the same root or a cognate topographical feature. In the United Kingdom the name can still be found in England and Scotland, while in the United States it is most frequently recorded in New York City and surrounding areas, often as an anglicised version of Irish surnames.
Other related surnames that share a linguistic root with Yeats include MacKeogh, MacAodh, McCay, McKeague, MacKee, MacKeegan, MacEochagáin, McKean, O'Eaddy, McAuley, Eochaidh, and Hickey. These names demonstrate the broad pattern of surname development across the British Isles, wherein place‑based, occupation‑based, and patronymic forms coexisted and evolved over centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Yeats surname
Male
- Adam
- Andrew
- Charles
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Angela
- Audrey
- Carol
- Debbie
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Frances
- Karen
- Kelly
- Lesley
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sandra
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Yeats in...
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There are approximately 903 people named Yeats in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,995th most common surname in Britain. Around 14 in a million people in Britain are named Yeats.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Yeats
- W. B. Yeats - Irish poet and playwright (1865 to 1939)
- Ron Yeats - Scottish football player
- John Butler Yeats - Irish artist (1839 to 1922)
- Michael Yeats - Irish politician and barrister (1921 to 2007)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.