Pate Family History

English and Scottish: from the personal name Pat(t), Pate, a short form of Patrick. English and Scottish: nickname for a man with a bald head, from Middle English pate ‘head’, ‘skull’. French (Paté): from Old French pat(t)é ‘with paws’, ‘pawed’ (from pat(t)e ‘paw’), a nickname, applied presumably to a man with large and clumsy hands and feet. German: nickname for a trustworthy man, from Middle High German pate, Middle Low German pade ‘godfather’, ‘male relative’ (see Paeth), or alternatively from a personal name Bado, probably meaning ‘battle’, ‘fight’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press