Find out how popular the last name Coil is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Coil.

Coil, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Coil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coil in America

Coil is the 11793rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coil surname appeared 2,656 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Coil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coil to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Coil

The surname Coil is believed to have originated in England, with its earliest known use dating back to the 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English word "col," which means "charcoal" or "coal." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who worked as a coal miner or a charcoal burner.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Coil surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273. The name is spelled as "Cole" in this document, which is likely an early variation of the modern spelling.

In the 14th century, the surname Coil appeared in various forms, including "Coll," "Colle," and "Colles," in various records from different parts of England. These variations reflect the phonetic spelling practices of the time, as well as regional differences in pronunciation.

The Coil surname has also been associated with several place names in England. For example, there is a village called Coleshill in Warwickshire, which may have been the origin of some Coil families. Similarly, the village of Colinton in Midlothian, Scotland, might have contributed to the surname's spread in that region.

One notable figure bearing the Coil surname was William Coil, who lived in the late 16th century and was a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers in York, England. Another early example is John Coil, a landowner in Oxfordshire, who was mentioned in records from the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, the Coil surname gained prominence through the work of Charles Coil, a renowned clockmaker from London, who was born in 1707 and died in 1784. His clocks and watches were highly sought after by the nobility and wealthy merchants of the time.

Another notable Coil was Sir John Coil, a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1773 and died in 1840, and his exploits at sea earned him a knighthood and several military honors.

The Coil surname also has connections to the United States, with one of the earliest recorded examples being that of James Coil, who emigrated from England to Virginia in the late 17th century. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the country, contributing to the spread of the name in the New World.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coil

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Coil.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Coil was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Coil has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Coil was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Coil, please contact us.

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