Cooate History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancestors of the name Cooate date back to the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Cooate family lived at the cotes which was in turn derived from the Old English word cote, which means at the cottage, which denotes that the initial bearer of this surname lived in a little cottage.  Due to the general meaning of the name, there are a few places named Coates in Britain including places in Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire.  The last dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Cotes. 
Early Origins of the Cooate family
The surname Cooate was first found in Staffordshire where the family are "descended from Richard de Cotes, who was probably son of Thomas de Coates, living in 1157, when the Black Book of the Exchequer was compiled."  At that time, he held large estates on the Salop, Staffordshire borders.
By 1273, the name was scattered throughout England as seen in the Hundredorum Rolls of that year: Egidius de Cotes, Norfolk; Robert de Cotes, Buckinghamshire; and Geoffrey de Cotes, Lincolnshire. And later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Thomas del Cotes; Johannes del Cotes; and Henricus del Cote as all holding lands there at that time. 
Early History of the Cooate family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cooate research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1210, 1273, 1556, 1682, 1716, 1609 and are included under the topic Early Cooate History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cooate Spelling Variations
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Cooate are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Cooate include: Coates, Coate, Coats and others.
Early Notables of the Cooate family (pre 1700)
Notables of the family at this time include Sir Thomas de Cotes, Knight of a land-holding family in the Salop-Stafford area; George Cotes (or Cotys) (died 1556), an English academic and a Catholic bishop during the...
Migration of the Cooate family to Ireland
Some of the Cooate family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Migration of the Cooate family
Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Cooate or a variant listed above: John Coates who settled in Virginia in 1650; James Coates settled in Jamaica in 1679; Mary Coates settled in New York in 1686; William Coates settled in Barbados in 1660.