GATES Family History

Recorded in many forms including Gate, Jate, Yate, Gait, and the patronymics Gates, Jates, Yates and Gaits, this is an English surname. It is topographical from residence by the gates of a medieval town, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th century "gatu", plural of "geat", meaning gate. Since medieval gates were usually arranged in pairs, fastened in the centre, the Olde English plural came to function as a singular, and a new plural ending "-s" was added to the Middle English gate", giving "gates".