Coles (surname)

Coles is a patronymic surname of English origins deriving from either a pet form of the name Nicholas or from the Old English word meaning '"coal black".^[1]

Notable people with the surname include:

• Arthur William Coles (1892–1982), Australian businessman
• Vernell Eufaye "Bimbo" Coles (b. 1968), American basketball player
• Bryony Jean Coles (b. 1946), British prehistoric archaeologist
• Cameron Coles (b. 1974), Australian-born Scottish cricketer
• Cecil Frederick Coles (1888–1918), British composer
• Charles "Honi" Coles (1911–1992), American tap dancer
• Charlie Coles (1942–2013), American basketball player and coach
• Charlotte Coles, British oncologist and professor
• Cowper Phipps Coles (1819–1870), British naval captain and designer
• Cyril Henry Coles (1899–1959), British writer, 50% of Manning Coles
• Dane Coles (b. 1986), New Zealand rugby player
• Daniel Richard Coles (b. 1981), English footballer
• Darnell Coles (b. 1962), American baseball player and coach
• Dennis Coles (b. 1970), Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan
• Edward Coles (1786–1868), American abolitionist and politician
• Elisha Coles (1640–1680), English lexicographer
• Elizabeth Coles (1912–1975), British novelist Elizabeth Taylor
• Fenton George Coles (b. 1937), Welsh rugby player
• George Coles (cricketer, born 1798) (1798–1865), English amateur cricketer
• George Coles (politician) (1810–1875), Canadian politician; first Premier of Prince Edward Island
• George Edward Coles (1851–1903), English cricketer
• George Coles (architect) (1884–1963), English architect
• Sir George James "G.J." Coles (1885–1977), founder of what was to become the Coles Group shopping empire, Australia
• H. Brent Coles (b. 1951), mayor of Boyse, Idaho
• Isaac Coles (1747–1813), American politician
• Kimberly Coles (b. 1962), American actress
• Joanne Coles (b. 1992), English motorcycle trials rider
• John Coles (1833–1919), English businessman
• John Coles (archaeologist) (1930–2020), archaeologist
• John David Coles, American TV and film director
• Leslie Stephen Coles (1941–2014), American biogerontologist and a key member of the Supercentenarian Research Foundation
• Laveranues Leon Coles (b. 1977), American football player
• Lisa Coles (b. 1964), American broadcaster Lisa Guerrero
• Manning Coles, pseudonym of British spy writers Adelaide Manning (1891–1955) and Cyril Coles (1899–1965)
• Mark Coles, New Zealand cricket coach
• Miriam Coles Harris (1834–1925), author whose anonymous first novel attracted several impostors
• Nathaniel Adams Coles (1919–1965), American jazz musician Nat King Cole
• Neil Chapman Coles (b. 1934), British golfer
• Peter Coles (b. 1963), Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University
• Ray Coles, mayor and committee member Lakewood, New Jersey
• Richard Coles (b. 1962), British musician and clergyman
• Richard Coles (civil servant) (1862–1935), British civil servant
• Robert Coles (b. 1929), American psychiatrist, educator, author
• Robert Coles (c. 1600–1655), early settler in New England
• Walter Coles (1790–1857), U.S. Representative from Virginia
• William Coles Finch (1864–1944), English author and historian
• Wayne Coles-Janess, Australian writer, film director and producer