Meaning and history
From an English surname, originally derived from either a medieval short form of Nicholas or the byname Cola, Cole became more popular in the early 1980s and received another boost in 1990 when it was used for the main character in the film Days of Thunder. Notable bearers include songwriter Cole Porter (1891–1964) and musician Nat King Cole (1919–1965).
20062006: 5,640 births, rank #84
2007: 5,703 births, rank #84
2008: 5,389 births, rank #85
2009: 5,278 births, rank #82
2010: 4,590 births, rank #90
20112011: 4,140 births, rank #94
2012: 3,779 births, rank #102
2013: 3,454 births, rank #114
2014: 3,426 births, rank #116
2015: 3,499 births, rank #115
20162016: 3,604 births, rank #110
2017: 3,468 births, rank #116
2018: 3,348 births, rank #118
2019: 3,093 births, rank #123
2020: 2,771 births, rank #133
20212021: 2,835 births, rank #132
2022: 2,626 births, rank #144
2023: 2,364 births, rank #155
2024: 2,224 births, rank #162
20252025: 2,003 births, rank #182
Cole moved from #162 to #182 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 2002, with 6,038 births.