2000
#13,207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Coil
A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived near a corner or bend in a road.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,423 Americans carry the last name Coil. That puts it at #13,727 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coil surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Coil with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 141,459
Census rank
#13,727
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,113 bearers of the surname Coil in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13727th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coil, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coil
Among Census respondents with the surname Coil, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Coil bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Coil surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 1,879
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 111
- Two or more races2.9% · 61
- Black or African American1.4% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coil
Coil appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,656
+536 bearers (+25.3%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 1,414 places
2020
#13,727
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,113
-543 bearers (-20.4%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 1,934 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,207 | 2,120 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,793 | 2,656 | 0.90 | +536 bearers (+25.3%) | Up 1,414 places |
| 2020 | #13,727 | 2,113 | 0.71 | -543 bearers (-20.4%) | Down 1,934 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Coil surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,793 | #13,727 | -16.4% |
| Count | 2,656 | 2,113 | -20.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.71 | -21.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coil bearers went from 2,656 to 2,113 (-20.4% change). The surname moved down 1,934 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,793 to #13,727.
FAQ
Coil surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coil?
Name Census estimates that about 2,423 living Americans carry the surname Coil. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,459 residents.
How common is Coil?
Coil ranks #13,727 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,113 people with the surname Coil. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,423), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Coil.
Has Coil become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coil went from 2,656 recorded bearers to 2,113. That is a decrease of 543 (-20.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,793 to #13,727.
What does the Census say about the background of Coil?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coil, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Coil in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (1,879 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coil appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Hispanic (5.3%), Two or More Races (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Coil (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Coil mean?
A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived near a corner or bend in a road. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Coil (0.71 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Coil?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Coil on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.