Coley
An English surname that likely began as a nickname or short form from names like Cole or Coll, though some early writers linked it to place names or coal-related words.
The #2,326 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,702 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually treated as a variant or diminutive of Cole or Coll, names that early surname writers connected with Old English and Old Norse forms such as Cola, Cole, and Koli. In that line of explanation, the base element may refer to dark coloring or to a nickname based on a personal name. Some 19th-century authors also suggested links with place-names or with words for coal, but those were secondary or less certain explanations.
History
Early surname scholars used Coley as an example of the wider family of Cole, Coll, Colley, and related forms found in English records. The spelling has also appeared in Scotland and elsewhere in forms that were treated as close relatives of Cole rather than a separate name. In modern use it remains most common in English-speaking countries, especially the United States and the United Kingdom.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Coley with a whole cluster of short names built around Cole/Coll, showing how fluid spelling could be in older records.
From the historical record
“Burn's Eccles. Law. See CoUett below. COLEY. The same as Cowley, Cooley, &c. COLFOX. The same as the Colvox of the H.R., whatever that may be. COLtNT. In Scotl. probably difterent from the Eng. Collins. Gaelic etymologists derive it from cailcan or coileafi, " the nmn of the wood," or forester. It is still in use…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom