Given name & surname
Kohl
“cabbage”
Kohl is a surname from German. It is used in English, German, and Italian.
Original GermanKohle
Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1982. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kohl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,759
- 1,759 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2001
- 98 babies
- 2025
- 17
- #5,507 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −28%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,507 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 28.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 98 in 2001. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,551 as a first name in 2020; 8,836 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kohl’s family of names
In English usage, Kohl as a surname has a related form in KOEHL. In German usage, Kohl as a surname has a related form in KOEHLE. In German usage, Kohl as a surname has a related form in KOHLE.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
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