Origin
Calcote : English: habitational name from any of numerous places (in Bedfordshire Berkshire Cambridgeshire Cheshire Northamptonshire Warwickshire and elsewhere) named Caldecote or Caldecott from Old English cald ‘cold’ + cot ‘cottage dwelling’. It has been suggested that in Old English this expression denoted an unattended shelter for wayfarers although in fact some places with this name were of considerable status by 1086 when they appear in Domesday Book. In some instances this and some of the other shortened forms may have arisen from Calcot in Berkshire Collacott(s) in Devon or Calcutt in Wiltshire in all of which the first element apparently comes from the Old English personal name Cola (see Cole 2) or the word col ‘(char)coal’ in which case the meaning would be something like ‘coalshed’.
Colburn : English:: 2: habitational name usually from Colburn in Catterick (North Yorkshire) named from Old English cōl ‘cool’ or col ‘coal’+ burna ‘stream’ (often confused with Old Norse brunnr ‘spring stream’) but sometimes perhaps from a minor place so named such as Coalburn in South Wingfield (Derbyshire) or Coldbourne in Bramley (Surrey).1: from the Middle English personal name Colborn an Anglicized form of Old Norse Kolbiǫrn Kolbiorn from kol ‘coal’ + biǫrn ‘bear’.3: variant of Colbran from the Middle English personal name Colbrand (Old Norse Kolbrandr Kolbrand from kol ‘coal’ + brandr ‘sword-blade firebrand’).4: variant of Cowburn a habitational name from Cowburn in Kirkham (Lancashire).
Colden : 1: English: habitational name from a place in Yorkshire called Colden from Old English cald ‘cold’ or col ‘charcoal’ + denu ‘valley’.2: Scottish: habitational name from the lands of Colden near Dalkeith (Midlothian).
Coldrey : 1: from Coldrey near Froyle (Hants) which is recorded as colriðe in a 12th-century copy of a document from 973–4. The place-name appears to derive from Old English col ‘coal charcoal’ + rið ‘stream’. Some of the post-medieval bearers may belong under Cowdrey. 2: see Cowdrey.
Cole : 1: English: usually from the Middle English and Old French personal name Col(e) Coll(e) Coul(e) a pet form of Nicol (see Nichol and Nicholas) a common personal name from the mid 13th century onward. English families with this name migrated to Scotland and to Ulster (especially Fermanagh).2: English: occasionally perhaps from a different (early) Middle English personal name Col of native English or Scandinavian origin. Old English Cola was originally a nickname from Old English col ‘coal’ in the sense ‘coal-black (of hair) swarthy’ and is the probable source of most of the examples in Domesday Book. In the northern and eastern counties of England settled by Vikings in the 10th and 11th centuries alternative sources are Old Norse Kolr and Koli (either from a nickname ‘the swarthy one’ or a short form of names in Kol-) and Old Norse Kollr (from a nickname perhaps ‘the bald one’).3: English: nickname for someone with swarthy skin or black hair from Middle English col coul(e) ‘charcoal coal’ (Old English col).4: Scottish and Irish: when not of English origin this is a shortened and altered form of McCool.5: French (northern mainly Seine-Maritime): from a short form of the personal name Nicolas (see Nicholas). Compare 1 above and Colle.6: Americanized form of German Kohl.7: Americanized form of Dutch Kool.8: In some cases particularly in New England Americanized form (translation into English; compare 3 above) of French Charbonneau.
Colebatch : from Colebatch (Shrops) which is recorded as Colebech Colebach in medieval documents and as Cowbach in 1577. The place-name derives from the Old English personal name Cola Old English col ‘charcoal’ or cōl ‘cool’ + bæce ‘stream valley’.
Colebrook : English (southern): habitational name from Colebrooke or either of two places called Colebrook all in Devon. Alternatively a topographic name for someone who lived by a ‘cool brook’ from Middle English col coul + brok brouk(e).
Colford : English (Lancashire and North Yorkshire): habitational name from either of two places called Coleford in Somerset and Gloucestershire which are named with Old English col ‘(char)coal’ + ford ‘ford’.
Colfox : from Middle English colfox ‘coalfox’ (Old English col ‘coal charcoal’ + fox ‘fox’) used to denote a sly or cunning person as in Chaucer's description of ‘a collfox ful of sly iniquitee’ in the Nun's Priest's Tale (about 1390).
Colgate : English (Kent): habitational name from Colgates in Kent named with Old English col ‘charcoal’ + geat ‘gate’ indicating a gate leading into woodland where charcoal was burned.
Colin : 1: French Walloon and Breton: from a French shortened pet form of the personal name Nicolas (see Nicholas). This surname is also found in the Flemish part of Belgium.2: English: from the personal name Colin a diminutive of Col itself a pet form of Nicholas.3: Irish and Scottish: from the Irish personal name Coileán or Coilín meaning ‘young hound’ or from the Scottish Gaelic equivalent Cailean.
Collacott : from one of the several places called Collacott in Devon named from Old English col ‘coal charcoal’ cōl ‘cool’ or the personal name Cola + cot ‘cottage’.see Caldicott.
Colledge : English (Midlands and northern England): habitational name from Colwich in Staffordshire named from Old English col ‘(char)coal’ + wīc ‘building’. The name has become associated with the familiar word college.
Collicott : English: habitational name from any of several places called Collacott in Devon named from Old English col ‘coal charcoal’ cōl ‘cool’ or the personal name Cola + cot ‘cottage’. Alternatively a variant of Callicott.
Colmer : 1: English (southwestern): habitational name from one of more of the numerous places with this or a similar name such as Colmer in North Huish (Devon) Colemore (Hampshire) and Colmer Farm in Marshwood (Dorset) from Old English cōl ‘cool’ + mere ‘pool pond’.2: Altered form of German Kollmer a habitational name from Colmar in Alsace (formerly written Kolmar) or perhaps of Gollmer.
Colpitts : English (Durham and Northumberland): habitational name from Colpitts in Slaley (Northumberland) which is named from Old English col ‘(char)coal’ + pytt ‘pit’.
Colwell : English (southern England and West Midlands): habitational name from any of the places in Northumberland and Devon named Colwell. The former is named with Old English col ‘(char)coal’ or cōl ‘cool’ + well(a) ‘spring stream’; the latter has as the first element a Celtic river name Coly apparently meaning ‘narrow’. Alternatively a habitational name from Colwall (Herefordshire) or Colwell House in Wivelsfield (Sussex).
Colwick : English: habitational name from Colwick (Nottinghamshire) but in the West Midlands perhaps alternatively from Colewick (lost in Saint Johns in Bedwardine Worcestershire) or Colewich (Staffordshire) for which see also Colledge. The placenames are formed either with the Old English personal name Cola or with Old English col ‘coal charcoal’ + Old English wic ‘dairy farm’ (see Wick). The surname Colwick is no longer found in Britain. Compare Collick.
Corkett : from any of the places named with one of the many variants of Caldicott e.g Calcot (Berks) Calcut (Warwicks).alternatively from Calcutt (Wilts) which was named in Old English as 'Cola's cottage'.
Couston : from Couston near Newtyle (Angus) Couston in Aberdour (Fife) or another similarly named place. The Fife name is from the given name Col in the genitive case with -s + Scots toun ‘farm village’ and other names may share this etymology.
Cowgill : English Yorkshire and Lancashire: habitational name from any of the places called Cowgill in Yorkshire; all are named with Old Norse gil ‘narrow valley ravine’ with various first elements including Old English cū ‘cow’ and Old English col ‘(char)coal’.
Cowley : 1: English: habitational name from any of various places called Cowley. One in Gloucestershire is named with Old English cū ‘cow’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’; two in Derbyshire have Old English col ‘(char)coal’ as the first element; and one near London is from Old English cofa ‘shelter bay’ (see Cove) or the personal name Cofa. The largest group however with examples in Buckinghamshire Devon Oxfordshire and Staffordshire were apparently named as ‘the wood or clearing of Cufa’; however in view of the number of places called with this element it is possible that it conceals a topographic term as well as a personal name.2: Irish: shortened form of Macaulay (see McCauley).3: Manx: shortened form of Gaelic Mac Amhlaoibh ‘son of Amhlaoibh’ (a Gaelicized form of Old Norse Óláfr). For an alternative Manx form of the same patronymic see Callow.
Culwick : from Colwick (Notts) but in the W Midlands perhaps alternatively from Colewick (lost in Saint Johns in Bedwardine Worcs) or Colewich (Staffs) for which see also Colledge. The place-names are formed either with the Old English personal name Cola or with Old English col ‘coal charcoal’ + Old English wic ‘dairy farm’ (see Wick).
Leng : 1: English: nickname either from Middle English leng(e) ‘ling’ for someone who dealt in or was thought to resemble this fish. Compare Pike Tench Dace and other fish names.2: English: variant of Laing.3: German: variant of Lang.4: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 冷 meaning 'cold' in Chinese: (i) mispronounced form of the two Chinese surnames 泠 and 伶 (Ling) which are said to be traceable back to Ling Lun (伶倫) a musician during the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (ii) said to be from Leng Shui (冷水) the name of a fief granted to descendants of Kang Shu the 9th son of the virtuous King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC).5: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surnames 凌 see Ling 4.6: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 甯 (or 寧) see Ning.7: Chinese: Teochew form of the surname 龍 see Long 5.8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 梁 see Liang 1.9: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 林 see Lin 1.10: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 練 see Lian 3.11: Cambodian: written ឡេង of Chinese origin from 梁 see Liang 1 and compare 8 above.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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