Cole

Cole: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “swarthy, coal-black”
Origin: English
Say it: KOHL · 1 syllable
Used for: Boys

From an English surname derived from Middle English Cole, originally a nickname for someone dark-complexioned or dark-haired. It can also reflect a short form of Nicholas in some cases.

English names Surname-style names Short names

How popular is Cole?

2024668 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Cole in 20242,224

2024 rank#163 boys

Peak year2002

Total US babies since 1880152,615

Cole has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Cole

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Nicholasvictory of the people · Greek
Nicolasvictory of the people · Greek
Nicovictory of the people · Greek
Colinyoung creature; cub · Scottish Gaelic
Colsonson of Cole · English
Collinpeople of victory · Greek
Nikolaivictory of the people · Russian
Nikolasvictory of the people · Greek

Cole questions

What does the name Cole mean?

Cole means "swarthy, coal-black". It comes from English. From an English surname derived from Middle English Cole, originally a nickname for someone dark-complexioned or dark-haired. It can also reflect a short form of Nicholas in some cases.

Is Cole a boy or girl name?

Cole is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Cole?

2,224 US babies were named Cole in 2024. Its peak year was 2002.

How do you pronounce Cole?

Cole is usually pronounced KOHL.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.