Bates is a distinctive boys' name in United States, ranking #8842 in 2015 with 8 recorded births. This places Bates in the bottom 37% of ranked US boys' names for the year. Its actual usage is classified as Rare. The name reached its all-time peak in 2014 with 17 births ranking #5272. In 2015, approximately 1 in every 239,532 boys born was named Bates. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.