Given name & surname
Kole
“the keeper of the keys”
Kole is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “the keeper of the keys.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “the keeper of the keys.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Kole has a related form in 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
Kole through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,855
- 9,785 boys · 70 girls
- Most popular year
- 2009
- 433 babies
- 2025
- 165
- #1,247 for boys · #16,203 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −28%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 160 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,247 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 27.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 433 in 2009. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (19). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,923 as a first name in 2020; 1,383 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.
Kole’s family of names
Kole has a related form in Koal. Kole has a related form in Koale. In English usage, Kole has a related form in Cole.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kole
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kole, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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