# Holly (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/holly/  
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) | 8,934 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,979 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 34,558 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.9% (8,856 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Hollie, Hollee, Holli, Hollye, Holley |

## Etymology

* As an Irish surname, calque of mac cuilinn (“holly”) (see McCullen) and sometimes McQuillan. * As an English surname, variant of Holley. * As a Czech and Slovak surname, variant of Holý, Holy. * Also as a locational English surname, from Old English hol leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”), compare Hollywood. * Also as an English surname, short form of Holiday. * Also as an English surname, after the holly tree. * As a feminine given name popularized by Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (especially the 1961 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Holly 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) | 66% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 28% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Holly in the United States.

## People named Holly

- Lauren Holly, American actress
- Ellen Holly, American actress

## Similar surnames

Holley, Halley, Holl, Howley, Hollie, Holle, Hohl, Hooley, Hole, Hilley, Hoel, Howell.

## 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.