Colten is an American respelling of Colton, an English surname and place name meaning "coal town" or "Cola's settlement", from the Old English personal name Cola, "charcoal". The -en ending was a popular variation in the 2000s, when cowboy-flavored names like Colt, Colton and Colten were at their height. Colten has been in the US top 1000 every year since 2000, peaked at number 386 in 2011 and ranks number 966 in 2025.