Coles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The earliest origins of the Coles surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name reveals that an early member was a person with a dark complexion. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word col, which meant dark.

Early Origins of the Coles family

The surname Coles was first found in Somerset or Wiltshire at Cole. The Somerset hamlet is in the parish of Pitcomb, union of Wincanton, hundred of Bruto; while the Wiltshire parish is in the union, and hundred of Malmesbury, Malmesbury and Kingswood. 1

“Essentially south of England names, especially in the south – west, rarely occurring north of a line drawn west from the Wash. Cole is best distributed and has its principal homes in Devon and Wiltshire. Coles is most numerous in Somerset. Both names, strangely enough, are rare in Cornwall. Cole was a very ancient Teutonic name; there are places of the name in Somerset and Wiltshire, a circumstance that may perhaps explain the frequency of both names in Somerset and of Cole in Wiltshire.” 2

Much farther to the north in Scotland, the name was “one of the many forms assumed by the name Macdowall.” 3