# Hollister (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | French |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 5,736 |
| US rank (2010) | 5,992 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 53,826 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.3% (5,608 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

The surname is a feminine derivative of Hollier, itself from Old French holier (“adulterer, lecher”), in this case extended to refer to a female brothel-keeper, (i.e. a madam). The originally feminine occupational suffix -ster has given rise to many such personal names which today might instead be either masculine or ungendered altogether. For example, from masculine dyer, came both formerly feminine variants Dyster and Dexter; from masculine weaver/webber, came the formerly feminine Webster, among others.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Hollister 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) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Hollister in the United States.

## People named Hollister

- Nancy Hollister, American politician
- Alice Hollister, American actress (1886-1973)
- Ned Hollister, American zoologist and botanical collector (1876 – 1924)

## Similar surnames

Holst, Holston, Holstein, Holgate, Halstead, Halsted, Hallstrom, Hellstrom.

## 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.