Given name & surname
Coal
“a swarthy woman; having coal-black hair”·“having dark features; having coal-black hair”
Coal is a variant of Cole. Interpretations include “a swarthy woman; having coal-black hair” (English) and “having dark features; having coal-black hair” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Coal is a variant of Cole. Interpretations include “a swarthy woman; having coal-black hair” (English) and “having dark features; having coal-black hair” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Coal is a variant of Cole. A possible origin is English, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1994. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Coal is a variant of Cole. The history of Cole gives this family its wider story. Cole’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Coal through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 176
- 176 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #9,902 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −63%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,902 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 14 in 2016. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 202 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Coal, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.