Yeates

Background:  The famous literary and artistic family of Yeats, which had formerly been in Dublin, settled in County Sligo at the end of the seventeenth century. There are a number of families of Yates and Yeates elsewhere unconnected with them. The name means dweller by the gate.

The name Yeats, alias Yates and Yeates, Is on record in Dublin in the seventeenth century. The ancestor of the well known Co. Sligo family was Jervis Yeats, a citizen of Dublin who died in 1712. The first in Co. Sligo was Church of Ireland rector of Drumcliff. He was grandfather of John Butler Yeats (1839-1922) the artist, who had two famous sons, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), the poet, and Jack Butler Yeats (1870-1957) the leading artist in Ireland in the present century.

Name Variations:  Yeates, Yeats, Yates.

References:
One or more of the following publications has been referenced for this article.
The General Armory; Sir Bernard Burke - 1842.
A Handbook of Mottoes; C.N. Elvin - 1860.
Irish Families, Their Names, Arms & Origins; Edward MacLysaght - 1957.
The Surnames of Ireland; Edward MacLynsaght - 1957.
The Book of Irish Families Great and Small.

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