Colette

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Colette is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name267K records spelled Colette16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Colétte, Côlette, Colettè, Colètte, Coletté

• Russian given name476 records spelled Colette6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Canada

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Колетт, KoLett

• Greek given name429 records spelled Colette3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland

  Also written Kolet, Κολετ

• Korean given name377 records spelled Colette4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Korea, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Colt, 콜드, Cold

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Colette is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, French diminutive of Nicole, from Greek Nikolaos meaning 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Diminutive/variant of Nicole, from Greek nikē + laos, 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Diminutive of Nicole/Nicolas, from Greek Nikolaos 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Feminine diminutive of Nicolas/Colin; Greek « victory of the people ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Feminine diminutive of Nicholas; sometimes used in Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 129 years between 1892–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Colette Peignotb. 1903FRFrench writer (1903-1938)
• Colette Audryb. 1906FRFrench novelist, screenwriter, and critic (1906-1990)
• Colette Brossetb. 1922FRFrench actress (1922-2007)
• Colette Renardb. 1924FRFrench actress (1924-2010)
• Colette Marchandb. 1925FRFrench dancer and actress (1925-2015)
• Stéphane Audranb. 1932FRnot in their usual nameFrench actress (1932–2018)
• Colette Bessonb. 1946FRFrench sprinter
• Pascale Ogierb. 1958FRnot in their usual nameFrench actress (1958-1984)
• Daphné Bürkib. 1980FRnot in their usual nameFrench actress
• Colette HillerUSAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 707 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Colette?

We estimate roughly 197 thousand people bear Colette (counting its spellings and scripts) across 6 countries in our records.

In which country does Colette have the most bearers?

We estimate about 175 thousand people bear Colette in France, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled colette.

Where is Colette most common?

Colette is densest in France, where the national register counts about 1 in 387 people carrying it.

How common is Colette compared with other names?

In France, Colette is the 168th most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Colette a male or female name?

Colette is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Colette mean?

Recorded meaning: Diminutive of Nicole, feminine of Nicolas, from Greek Nikolaos 'victory of the people'.