Name of the Week: Cole

 

Origin:

Cole is a name which has several sources. Most commonly, it has been used in Britain as an adoption of the surname Cole, itself a conflation of several personal names. Most prominently, Cole likely derives from the Anglo-Saxon name Cola, originally a byname taken from the Old English col "coal." In other cases (especially in places of strong Viking influence) it may be derived from the Old Norse name Koli — a short form of names which begin with the element Kol-, itself from the Norse kolr "coal". It is therefore no coincidence that Cole rhymes with the English word coal, as the byname would have originally have been used to denote someone who was dark (haired) or swarthy. In this sense, we can compare it to the Irish Ciaran and Welsh Gethin. In some later examples of the surname, Cole may have still been used as a descriptional byname, such as in the case of John le Cole in the Feet of Fines of Essex in 1321.  In the Middle Ages, Coll(e) came into use as a diminutive for Nicholas, which may also have become conflated with Cole.  Famously, Cole is associated with the 18th century nursery rhyme Old King Cole. This is based on the legendary King of Britain who features in several Welsh genealogies as Coel Hen (Hen = "Old"") and listed in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Legend has it that Coel was a Celtic ruler who lived around the turn of the fourth and fifth centuries at the time of the departure of the Roman legions from Britain. His territory extended over Northern England, and he may actually have been the last of the Roman Duces Brittanniarum with his headquarters at York. Later, in the Middle Ages, Coel Hen became associated with Colchester (from the mistaken idea that Colchester's name meant "Cole's fortress"). It was here that Cole became linked to the Roman Empire. He became the father of one of the most significant early Christian saints: Saint Helena (whose origins, even in her own lifetime, were obscure so many countries later claimed her as their own) and therefore the grandfather of Constantine the Great which gave Britain a Roman heritage.  Coel's name could be an Anglicised form of the Latin name Caelius (from Latin caelum "sky"). However, his name is also the same as the Middle Welsh and Breton word coel meaning "omen, belief" from the Proto-Celtic *kaylo- "whole, healthy; blessed with good omen." Alternatively, it could derive from the Proto-Celtic *koslo- "hazel" from which the River Cole in the West Midlands gets its name.

Usage:

There are several instances of men named Cola in the 1066 Domesday Book, distributed across England showing that it was not an uncommon Anglo-Saxon name. It even survived into the 12th century as the record for Cola filius Lanterii, c.1145 in Stenton, Kent. The surname Cole can be found in use from the 12th century and, as with most surnames, was adopted as a given name (usually in honour of a godparent or from the mother's maiden name) from the 17th century.   click to enlarge Cole was a fairly common surname, ranking 119th on the 1881 census. Data from the 1881 census shows that the (though rare) Cole was most common as given name in the areas where the surname was most prevalent.  While Cole remained rare throughout the 19th century, Coleman (the anglicised form of the Irish Colmán) was in more moderate use. Cole grew in use as a given name in the late 20th century.  Birth records in England and Wales for Cole: 1840s:  1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 5 births 6 births 2 births 1 birth 3 births 2 births 3 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 1 births 4 births 12 births 17  births In the US, Cole went from #485 in 1981 to #266 in 1982 and rose swiftly from that point, reaching #72 in 1997. It remained in the top 100 until it fell to #102 in 2012. It currently ranks #110.  In England and Wales, Cole has never broken into the top 100 nationally though from 1996 to 2005 it steadily rose in use to sit within the top 150. In 2016, Cole ranked #145 with 396 births overall in England and Wales. However, regionally, it ranked #87 in the North East, #98 in the North West and #99 in Wales.  In Scotland, Cole has enjoyed greater popularity in recent years. From 1974 to 1990, Cole had only ranked three times: one birth in 1982, 1984 and 1988. In the year 2000, Cole moved into the top 200 and rose rapidly to its peak of #43 in 2010.  In 2017, Cole ranked #54 with 109 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Cole Younger (1844–1916), American outlaw. * Cole Porter (1891–1964), American songwriter. Contemporary: * Cole Aldrich, American basketball player. * Cole Becker, lead singer of American rock band SWMRS. * Cole Hauser, American actor. * Cole Swindell, American singer. * Cole Swensen, American poet. Literature and Other Media: * Cole Trickle, the main character of the film Days of Thunder, played by Tom Cruise. * Cole Sear, the main character of the film The Sixth Sense, played by Haley Joel Osment. * Cole Turner, character in the television series Charmed played by Julian McMahon.

Variants:

Coel, Kole

Pronunciation:

KŌL [key]

Possible Longer Forms:

Colby, Colin, Coleman, Columbus, Cornelius, Lincoln, Malcolm, Nicholas

Sibling Names:

Lexi     Robyn     Paige     Erin     Zoe     Faith  Noah     Ethan     Kai     Tate     Evan     Blake

Name Lists:

Short and Sweet   River Names

 

If you like Cole you may also like:   Cody, Flynn, Kyle, Dane, Lincoln, Kane, Joel, Saul, Caleb, Fraser

Thanks to Jen for requesting this name.