NameCensus.

UK surname

Rate

An occupational surname derived from the Old French word "rate", meaning a measurement or estimate.

In the 1881 census there were 218 people recorded with the Rate surname, ranking it #12,158 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 188, ranked #20,417, down from #12,158 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Morcott and Peterborough St John the Baptist. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Boston, South Kesteven and South Holland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rate is 269 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 13.8%.

1881 census count

218

Ranked #12,158

Modern count

188

2016, ranked #20,417

Peak year

1901

269 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Rate had 218 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #12,158 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 188 in 2016, ranked #20,417.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 269 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Rate surname distribution map

The map shows where the Rate surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Rate surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rate over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 172 #11,682
1861 historical 202 #11,906
1881 historical 218 #12,158
1891 historical 238 #13,202
1901 historical 269 #12,518
1911 historical 266 #12,395
1997 modern 221 #16,565
1998 modern 218 #17,159
1999 modern 215 #17,425
2000 modern 211 #17,603
2001 modern 202 #17,834
2002 modern 210 #17,753
2003 modern 221 #16,987
2004 modern 206 #17,883
2005 modern 209 #17,629
2006 modern 222 #17,092
2007 modern 227 #17,041
2008 modern 218 #17,638
2009 modern 228 #17,486
2010 modern 230 #17,750
2011 modern 221 #18,039
2012 modern 193 #19,665
2013 modern 201 #19,454
2014 modern 206 #19,318
2015 modern 192 #20,138
2016 modern 188 #20,417

Geography

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Where Rates are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Morcott, Peterborough St John the Baptist, Thurrock, Grays and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Boston, South Kesteven, South Holland and Thurrock. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 3
2 Morcott Rutland
3 Peterborough St John the Baptist Northamptonshire
4 Thurrock, Grays Essex
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Boston 007 Boston
2 South Kesteven 008 South Kesteven
3 South Holland 004 South Holland
4 Boston 002 Boston
5 Thurrock 004 Thurrock

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rate

These lists show first names that appear often with the Rate surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rate

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Rate, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Rate surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Rate household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Rate is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Rate is most concentrated in decile 4 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Rate falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Rate is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Rate, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Rate

The surname Rate has its origins in Germany and the Low Countries, where it first emerged around the 12th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old German word "rath" or "rat," meaning "counsel" or "advice." In some cases, it may also have been an occupational surname for a magistrate or town councillor, known as a "rath" or "raet" in medieval German dialects.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, which mentions a "Theodoricus Rate" in a charter dated 1242. Another early record is from a 14th-century manuscript in the archives of the city of Lübeck, which refers to a "Johannes Rate."

In the Netherlands and the Low Countries, the name was sometimes spelled as "Raet" or "Raedt." A notable example is the Dutch Golden Age painter, Pieter Raedt (c. 1615-1677), who was a prominent figure in the Delft School of painting.

In England, the surname Rate is believed to have arrived with German or Dutch immigrants in the 16th or 17th centuries. One of the earliest recorded examples is Sir William Rate (c. 1560-1637), an English merchant and diplomat who served as the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under King James I.

Another notable figure was Thomas Rate (1667-1733), an English mathematician and philosopher who was a member of the Royal Society and contributed to the development of calculus.

In the 18th century, the name appears in the records of the East India Company, with Captain John Rate (c. 1720-1786) serving as a commander of ships in the company's maritime fleet.

John Rate Jr. (1753-1827) was a British naval officer who played a significant role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, serving as the captain of the HMS Bellerophon under Admiral Lord Nelson.

The surname Rate has also been found in other parts of Europe, such as France and Italy, with variations like "Rath" and "Ratti." It is a name with a rich history, spanning several centuries and countries, and has been associated with individuals from various professions and walks of life.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Rate families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rate surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Northamptonshire leads with 38 Rates recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.36x.

County Total Index
Northamptonshire 38 19.36x
Kent 26 3.65x
Rutland 26 169.60x
Glamorgan 23 6.33x
Lincolnshire 20 5.99x
Surrey 13 1.28x
Leicestershire 11 4.75x
Warwickshire 10 1.90x
Lancashire 9 0.36x
Durham 6 0.97x
Lanarkshire 6 0.89x
Middlesex 6 0.29x
Midlothian 4 1.43x
East Lothian 3 10.85x
Cambridgeshire 2 1.51x
Staffordshire 2 0.28x
Stirlingshire 2 2.60x
Yorkshire 2 0.10x
Buckinghamshire 1 0.79x
Cheshire 1 0.22x
Huntingdonshire 1 2.41x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.36x
Sussex 1 0.28x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Morcott in Rutland leads with 21 Rates recorded in 1881 and an index of 6176.47x.

Place Total Index
Morcott 21 6176.47x
Sittingbourne 14 249.11x
Roath 12 72.68x
Battersea 11 14.32x
Deeping St Nicholas 11 1122.45x
Kings Cliffe 10 1086.96x
Northampton Priory St 10 84.89x
Leicester St Mary 9 48.13x
Cardiff St Mary 8 39.96x
Peterborough 8 56.30x
Cambusnethan 6 40.03x
Long Lawford 6 1224.49x
Deptford St Paul 5 9.10x
Spotland 5 18.16x
Bishopwearmouth 4 7.50x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 4 3.56x
Northampton St Sepulchre 4 40.04x
Surfleet 4 579.71x
Wing 4 1739.13x
Aberdare 3 12.02x
Chatham 3 15.31x
Haddington 3 73.53x
St George Hanover 3 11.01x
Twickenham 3 33.52x
Wardleworth 3 21.20x
Aston 2 1.38x
Langtoft 2 476.19x
Leicester All Sts 2 44.05x
Sedgefield 2 90.50x
Spalding 2 30.21x
Stone 2 22.20x
Ufford 2 1818.18x
Wellingborough 2 20.26x
Birmingham 1 0.57x
Brighton 1 1.41x
Camberwell 1 0.75x
Clifton In Halifax 1 80.65x
Crowland 1 47.85x
East Langdon Oxney 1 416.67x
East Sutton 1 357.14x
Edgbaston 1 6.13x
Ely Holy Trinity St Mary 1 17.33x
Eton 1 34.97x
Falkirk 1 5.55x
Haddenham 1 80.65x
Kilsyth 1 20.37x
Kingsley 1 116.28x
Lambeth 1 0.55x
Lofthouse 1 32.36x
Margate St John Baptist 1 7.67x
Nottingham St Mary 1 1.37x
Pilton 1 2500.00x
Rockingham 1 625.00x
Stilton 1 217.39x
Stockbury 1 227.27x
Thornhaugh 1 555.56x
Whalley 1 27.70x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Rate surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 14
Elizabeth 10
Sarah 8
Alice 4
Emma 4
Ann 3
Annie 3
Hannah 3
Jane 3
Julia 3
Louisa 3
Catherine 2
Edith 2
Flora 2
Harriet 2
Isabella 2
Martha 2
Susan 2
Agnes 1
Beatrice 1
Betsey 1
Caroline 1
Clara 1
E.C.A. 1
Eliza 1
Emily 1
Enid 1
Ethel 1
Florence 1
Frances 1
Harriett 1
Helen 1
Ida 1
J.G. 1
Liley 1
Lucy 1
Lydia 1
M.A 1
Margaret 1
Margrate 1
Maria 1
Marjory 1
May 1
Rebecca 1
Rosanna 1
Rose 1
Ruth 1
Sophia 1
Susannah 1
V.B. 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Rate surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
George 14
William 13
James 10
Henry 5
John 5
Thomas 5
Alfred 4
Edwin 3
Frederick 3
Joe 3
Robert 3
Arthur 2
Charles 2
Edward 2
Fredrick 2
Joseph 2
Albert 1
Benjaman 1
Bradshaw 1
Christopher 1
Francis 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Grove 1
Harry 1
Jno. 1
Lachlan 1
Matthew 1
Richard 1
Stephen 1
W.R. 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Rate surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rate surname in 1881?

In 1881, 218 people were recorded with the Rate surname. That placed it at #12,158 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rate surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 188 in 2016. That gives Rate a modern rank of #20,417.

What does the Rate surname mean?

An occupational surname derived from the Old French word "rate", meaning a measurement or estimate.

What does the Rate map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Rate bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.