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English: from Middle English colier in most parts of the country ‘maker or seller of charcoal’ but in some areas (such as Bolton le Moors and Wigan Lancashire) where coal measures were near the surface ‘miner or seller of coal’ (in the modern sense ‘fossil fuel’). The name was taken to Ireland from England and was first recorded there in 1305. In Petty's ‘census’ of 1659 it was recorded as a principal surname in Meath. English: occupational name from Middle English coilour coliour culliour Old French coileor coillour ‘tax collector’. Surnames with this origin seem to have died out in Britain. French (northern): from collier ‘collar’ a metonymic occupational name for a maker of collars.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022