# Holley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/holley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A topographic surname from Middle English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 30,231 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,163 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 10,213 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.5% (29,215 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Holly. * Also as an English surname, from Old English hol (“hollow”) leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”) or Old English hol ēage (“eye”), perhaps a nickname for someone with a missing eye. * Also as an English surname, singular variant of Hollis.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Holley in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 65% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 30% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Similar surnames

Haley, Hoyle, Holly, Houle, Halley, Holl, Howley, Hollie, Holle, Helle, Hille, Hooley.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.