The prefix 'Colling' appears in a number of English place names and subsequent surnames. These names include Collingbourne in Wiltshire, Collingham in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, Collingridge, apparently a 'lost' medieval village whose site is not known, and Collingwood, in Kent, Surrey and Northumberland, the name being generally associated with the latter place. The surnames from these places are locational, that is to say that they are names which were given either to the local lord of the manior and his descendants or to former inhabitants of the particular village who moved somewhere else. In all cases the origin is probably pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon, and the probable meaning respectively is Cold stream (Collingbourne), Cold farm (Collingham), Cold ridge (Collingridge), and Cold Wood Collingwood. However it also possible that the name may mean for instance 'The wood belonging to the Cola people', since the latter was an early personal name. However as Cola also means cold, it may be that the arguement is cyclical. The very first of all the known associated spellings of the family name may be that of Crispanius de Colrygge of Devonshire in the Hundred Rolls of the year 1273, whilst Johannes de Colyngham. This was dated 1379, in the Poll Tax Rolls of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Richard 11nd of England. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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