Boy · English
Cole
Say it: KOHL
Meaning
From an English surname, from the medieval personal name Cole, partly a pet form of Nicholas and partly from Old English col 'charcoal, dark'.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Steadily popular in the US since the 1980s.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 2000s
In the United States
- 142,470 babies given this name since 1886
- At its height in 2002, about 1 in 321 boys
- 2,760 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Kole
Famous bearers
- Cole Porter, American composer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.