Slate History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Slate finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxons of England. It was given to one who worked as a person who covered roofs with slate. Slate is an occupational surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Occupational surnames were derived from the primary activity of the bearer. In the Middle Ages, people did not generally live off of the fruits of their labor in a particular job. Rather, they performed a specialized task, as well as farming, for subsistence. Other occupational names were derived from an object associated with a particular activity. This type of surname is called a metonymic surname. This surname comes from the Old English word esclate, which means splinter or slat.

Early Origins of the Slate family

The surname Slate was first found in Derbyshire where the earliest records of the family were found at Barlborough near Chesterfield in Derbyshire. 

As an occupational name, the family name was a trade name of a roofer and was originally spelled Sclater. This spelling is still used as far north into Scotland, specifically the Shetlands and the Orkney Islands, where their territories were in Burnes. “Robert Sklatare sold his tenement in Glasgow in 1430, John Sclater was a burgess of Arnbroath in 1458, and another John Sclatar witnessed a Forfarshire obligation in 1497.” [1]

Early census records in Britain revealed Thomas le Sclatatere in Worcestershire in 1255 and Saundr le Sclattur in 1278 in Oxfordshire. [2] The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Adam le Scatterre and Richard le Sclattere in Oxfordshire and Walter Sclatter in Buckinghamshire. [3]

“The living [of Tetsworth, Oxfordshire] is a vicarage, in the gift of the Slater family: the great tithes have been commuted for £210, and the small tithes for £115.” [4] The Sclaters of Hoddington, claim to have borrowed their name from the parish of Slaughter, or Schlauter in Gloucestershire where they were lords of the manor of over three hundred years. [5]

Early History of the Slate family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Slate research. Another 234 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1550, 1508, 1514, 1612, 1616, 1662, 1683, 1571, 1663, 1609, 1640, 1664, 1636, 1575, 1626, 1620, 1717, 1576, 1626, 1615, 1684, 1659, 1683, 1684, 1623, 1699, 1634, 1699, 1679, 1685, 1690, 1699, 1676 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Slate History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Slate Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people’s names evolved. Slate has been recorded under many different variations, including Sclater, Slater, Slatter, Sklater and others.

Early Notables of the Slate family (pre 1700)

Distinguished members of the family include William Sclater (1575-1626), rector of Pitminster, the second son of Anthony Sclater, of ancient Northumbrian descent, who is said to have held the benefice of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire for fifty years, and to have died in 1620, aged 100. William Sclater (d. 1717?), was an English nonjuring divine, born at Exeter, the only son of William Sclater, rector of St. Peter-le-Poer, and grandson of William Sclater… 
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Slate Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Slate Ranking

In the United States, the name Slate is the 6,150^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [6]

 Migration of the Slate family to Ireland

Some of the Slate family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

 Slate migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Slate or a variant listed above: