Coleshill

This is an English locational surname. It originates from one of several places called Coleshill including Coleshill in Berkshire, of which there are or were at least two such places, and Coleshill in Warwickshire. Perhaps surprisingly they all have nothing to do with coal! They may derive from the pre 7th century Olde English and Norse Viking words 'coll or kollr' meaning the head of the hill, which was added to 'hill' as a form of emphasis. In otherwords it was considered that the original village was right on the top of the hill, and not either at the base or somewhere in between, so they wanted to make it clear. There are however two other strong possibilities. The first is that there are several rivers called 'Cole', one of which flows past Coleshill in Warwickshire. These rivers have nothing either to do with 'coal,' but are from the word 'col' meaning cool. Finally the Olde Welsh word for a hazel tree was 'coll' of which the plural was 'colles.' It is unclear when the surname was first recorded, but it does appear in Coleshill, Warwickshire, in 1726, when William Coleshill was christened on April 6th of that year, whilst Katherine Coleshill married William Field, at Harefield Parish church, in the city of London, on October 11th 1745.