Colgate \c(o)-lga-te, col-gate\ as a boy's name is of Old English origin, and the meaning of Colgate is "dark gate". Place name. Associated in America with a soap-manufacturing company, and an Ivy League college. It was originally called Hamilton Literary and Theological Seminary, but was renamed Colgate University in 1890 for its benefactor, William Colgate of the soap fortune.

Colgate has 1 variant form: Colegate.