Choate
A surname that likely began as a nickname for a fat or chubby person, though some early writers thought it might be a corruption of an animal name.
The #3,179 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,150 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest early dictionary evidence treats Choate as a nickname surname meaning “fat” or “chubby.” That fits a pattern of English surnames formed from physical or personality traits. One 19th-century writer also suggested it could be a corruption of an older word like "shote," meaning a young pig, but that explanation is less certain and seems speculative.
History
The name is best known in the United States, where it has been borne by notable figures such as Rufus Choate, the 19th-century lawyer and orator. Early lexicographers recorded it as an uncommon surname, and its exact origin was already uncertain by the mid-1800s. In modern use it survives chiefly as an established family name rather than a common word-based surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century onomastic writer grouped Choate with a handful of surnames that seemed to him humorously animal-like or bodily in origin.
From the historical record
“CHOATE (©.), Choaty, Fat, Ghuhhy. CHOLMONDELEY ((£.), Calmundelei, Cold mount field. "Cold" forms part of many local names in England and the Continent. In Prussia is a place called Kalau, Cold meadow or hrooh ; in Friesland, a Koudum, Cold home; and, in Hainault, a Froid Chapelle, Cold Chapel, {v. Colby.) CHOUAN…”
— Surnames