Show ContentsColls History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Colls came from the given name Nicholas. Coll was a popular diminutive of Nicholas in the Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Colls family

The surname Colls was first found in Lincolnshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Colls family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colls research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1293, 1334, 1379, 1406, 1408, 1438, 1524, 1777, 1796 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Colls History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colls Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Colls family name include Colls, Colles, Colle, Coll, Col and others.

Early Notables of the Colls family

More information is included under the topic Early Colls Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Colls family to Ireland

Some of the Colls family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Colls migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Colls surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Colls Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Pero Colls, who landed in America in 1826 1

Colls migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Colls Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Elizabeth Colls, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Posthumous" in 1849 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Colls (post 1700) +

  • Ebenezer Colls (1812-1887), English marine painter
  • Thomas Colls (1822-1898), Australian politician, Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Yass Plains 1886–1894
  • Robert Colls (b. 1949), British historian, Professor of Cultural History at De Montfort University, Leicester
  • Kevin Colls (1922-2009), Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League from 1942 to 1947
  • Caroline Sturdy Colls (b. 1985), British historian, Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation at Staffordshire University


  1. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  2. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The POSTHUMOUS 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Posthumous.htm


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