How to say it
COL · ton
/ˈkoʊl.tən/
Masculine
Colton
Coal town, or 'Cola's town'
What it means
Old English place name, possibly 'Cola's settlement' (Cola being a personal name) or 'coal town.' Originally a surname; the first-name use is American and modern, riding the surname-first wave.
Colton is an English place name from Old English, with two competing readings: 'Cola's town' (from a Norse-derived personal name Cola) or 'coal town' (col + tūn). Multiple villages in England carry the name. As a first name Colton is American and modern: rare before 1990, then climbing fast with the broader masculine surname-first wave. It's been in the US top 100 since 2010. The Bachelor's Colton Underwood (the 2019 season) gave it modern reality-TV anchor. Common short: Cole or Colt.
Popularity over time
peaked at #59 in 2019, currently #103 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Cole and Colt both circulate as shorts; some Coltons stay full.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Colton Underwood American former football player and reality TV personality
Spelling variants
- Kolton
- Coltyn
Names with the same feeling
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