Cole
Cole was given to 2,003 boys in 2025, #182 among boys’ names; 154,646 Americans have been recorded with it since 1886 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 151,000 Americans named Cole and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 21 years old and half are between 13 and 28.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cole by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cole mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cole is “a male given name.” Its etymology gives the sense “coal, coal-black” (col).
Also “a diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.”
The surname is variously from: # A nickname from Old English col (“coal, coal-black”), # A patronymic from Nicholas. # A variation of Cowell (which itself has several origins). # As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McCool. # As a German surname, Americanized from Kohl. # As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Kool. # As a French surname, Americanized/calqued from Charbonneau, influenced by the first sense.
/koʊl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cole?
#182 among boys’ names, 2025
Cole fell from #115 in 2015 to #182 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.8 to 1.2 per 1,000.
6,054 babies in 2002, the peak
Cole peaked in 2002, when 6,054 babies were given it (6,038 boys, #69 among boys’ names). The 2,009 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 33% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,003 | #182 | 1.2 |
| 2024 | 2,224 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 2023 | 2,364 | #155 | 1.4 |
| 2022 | 2,626 | #144 | 1.5 |
| 2021 | 2,835 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 2020 | 2,771 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | 3,093 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 2018 | 3,348 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 2017 | 3,468 | #116 | 1.9 |
| 2016 | 3,604 | #110 | 1.9 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,499 | #115 | 1.8 |
| 2014 | 3,426 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 2013 | 3,454 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 2012 | 3,779 | #102 | 2.0 |
| 2011 | 4,140 | #94 | 2.2 |
| 2010 | 4,590 | #90 | 2.4 |
| 2009 | 5,278 | #82 | 2.7 |
| 2008 | 5,389 | #85 | 2.6 |
| 2007 | 5,703 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 2006 | 5,640 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 2005 | 5,587 | #79 | 2.8 |
| 2004 | 5,648 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 2003 | 5,898 | #69 | 3.0 |
| 2002 | 6,038 | #69 | 3.1 |
| 2001 | 5,739 | #74 | 3.0 |
| 2000 | 5,926 | #71 | 3.0 |
| 1999 | 5,317 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 1998 | 5,148 | #77 | 2.7 |
| 1997 | 5,159 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1996 | 3,737 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1995 | 3,150 | #118 | 1.7 |
| 1994 | 3,302 | #111 | 1.7 |
| 1993 | 2,665 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 1992 | 2,312 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1991 | 1,978 | #162 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 1,100 | #248 | 0.54 |
| 1989 | 909 | #272 | 0.45 |
| 1988 | 904 | #260 | 0.47 |
| 1987 | 1,003 | #234 | 0.54 |
| 1986 | 1,070 | #220 | 0.58 |
| 1985 | 1,185 | #204 | 0.64 |
| 1984 | 1,163 | #202 | 0.64 |
| 1983 | 1,112 | #209 | 0.62 |
| 1982 | 806 | #266 | 0.44 |
| 1981 | 299 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1980 | 271 | #516 | 0.15 |
| 1979 | 158 | #679 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 149 | #687 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 157 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1976 | 144 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 158 | #653 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 181 | #592 | 0.12 |
| 1973 | 159 | #624 | 0.10 |
| 1972 | 140 | #679 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 99 | #812 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 99 | #812 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 83 | #844 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 69 | #869 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 53 | #995 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 50 | #1,033 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 68 | #892 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 64 | #953 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 63 | #946 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 83 | #831 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 98 | #776 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 72 | #891 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 69 | #919 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 72 | #889 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 73 | #884 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 61 | #955 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 62 | #949 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 64 | #928 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 40 | #1,170 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 43 | #1,115 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 50 | #993 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 28 | #1,368 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 30 | #1,326 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 40 | #1,128 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,255 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 18 | #1,703 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 8 | #2,599 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 12 | #2,098 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 22 | #1,493 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 28 | #1,319 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 22 | #1,457 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,354 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 7 | #2,880 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 12 | #2,102 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 12 | #2,107 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 14 | #1,890 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 9 | #2,565 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 18 | #1,669 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 10 | #2,398 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 18 | #1,728 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 16 | #1,863 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 11 | #2,471 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,227 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 15 | #2,065 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 10 | #2,734 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 16 | #1,997 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 18 | #1,883 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 16 | #2,062 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 21 | #1,704 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 18 | #1,904 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 19 | #1,840 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 10 | #2,805 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 22 | #1,582 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 17 | #1,919 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,706 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 25 | #1,381 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 26 | #1,312 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 23 | #1,228 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 19 | #1,177 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 23 | #941 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 10 | #1,129 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 6 | #1,455 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 5 | #1,497 | 0.03 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,381 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,193 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,080 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 6 | #859 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cole a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cole has been given almost only to boys: 553 girls in 121 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cole: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cole, and how old are they?
151,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 154,646 Americans ever recorded as Cole. The median Cole alive today is 21 years old; half are between 13 and 28.
The 2020 Census counted 134,580 people named Cole (724 women and girls, 133,856 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 137,593 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 52 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 735 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,830 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 25,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 83,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 38,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cole born?
The states with the most babies named Cole are New York, California and Texas, with 22% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 161 | #111 | 0.7× |
| California | 144 | #259 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 135 | #286 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 121 | #105 | 1.4× |
| Florida | 103 | #209 | 0.7× |
| Massachusetts | 95 | #67 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 93 | #104 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 88 | #109 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 78 | #170 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 76 | #157 | 0.9× |
Where Cole is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cole is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 2.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cole with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 169,283 babies since 1880, Cole is the most given (91% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,009 of their 2,194 babies (92%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cole
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cole and names like it
- Compare Cole and KoleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sCole peaked in 2002.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cole since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Cole: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2002The year the most babies were named Cole.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Cole alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with CMost given first.