Cole is a boy name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Cole means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Cole across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Cole has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Cole is a boy name of Old English origin meaning “of uncertain meaning, possibly swarthy”. originally a surname.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 154,646 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 8,786 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 2,436 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 383 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 526 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 648 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Cole per year, United States (1886 to 2025). United States peaked in 2002 (6,054/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2010 (499/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2010 (164/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2020 (45/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2017 (29/yr).
Cole has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2002, when it ranked #115 nationally (given to 6,325 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 2000s.
Kyle · Chloe · Cleo · Callie · Gale · Cali · Caylee
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