Cole

What Cole means

Means “coal, coal-black”

The surname is variously from: A nickname from Old English col (“coal, coal-black”), A patronymic from Nicholas (see also Coles, Colson, Colle).

Source: Wiktionary, “Cole” (revision 93500633), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Cole?

US: Falling: down from #115 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #180 in 2015, #179 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2002, when 6,038 boys got the name (#69 that year). First in the US records in 1886.

How common

• About 1 in 853 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 941 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 269 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NH (4.88 per 1,000 boys), RI (4.48 per 1,000 boys), MA (3.52 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Cole is #182 in the US and #179 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.7% of US babies named Cole were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Kyle594 US · 55 E&W
• Cal554 US · 4 E&W
• Kole160 US · 23 E&W
• Cale47 US
• Kol24 US
• Gale13 US
• Kale11 US
• Coal7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Cole

Boys

• Hunter#130From the word “hunter”^*
• Davis#668Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #668 vs #5,137 in 2025
• Riley#207“rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Keaton#769possibly “hedge, enclosure + farmstead, settlement”^*
• Peyton#683Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2007, with 3,375 babies; 398 in 2025
• Conner#864Variant of Connor, meaning “lover of hounds”^*

For a sister

• Madison#40Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1970, with 5 babies
• Hailey#104“hay + clearing”^*
• Mackenzie#228“son, descendant + of Coinneach”^*
• Macy#718Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2003, with 1,483 babies; 390 in 2025
• Mckenzie#576Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2000, with 2,528 babies; 517 in 2025
• Makenzie#700Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #210 in 2015, #700 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Cole’s. Rank is US 2025.