View Message

That is another possibility. There is a surname Youngs, so why not an Olds? I always think along the lines that older people are less likely to have children, so someone getting their surname from, say, John the Old is a long shot; which is to ignore the existence of surnames such as Elder and Senior.
I've always assumed that Cole was a diminutive of Nicholas, I'm sure Colson is. Reaney and Wilson give a different explanation. It started out as a nickname for a swarthy person, i.e., "coal-black", which over time became a baptismal name. Far more common in the South of England than the North.