Coate is a surname of multiple purposed origins, most of which from Old and Middle English. It may have begun as a way to refer to someone who dwelled in a small cottage, potentially coming from the surname Cot. It is also said to have emerged as a locational surname for people from various locations in Britain that have names derived from the word cottage, such as Coat, Somerset, Coate, Wiltshire, and Cote, Oxfordshire. These instances could be closely connected to the surname Coates, as the two surnames would morph into each other due to pluralization and singularization. In addition to words for cottages, Coate may derive from Old English terms for animal pens, potentially denoting a connection or proximity to an enclosure for livestock. It is theorized that the name owes some of its prevalence to association with the garment coat.