How common is the surname Holmes?

156,780 people in the United States had the surname Holmes in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,969 Americans. It ranked 171st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Holmes?

Katie Holmes, American actress (born 1978), followed by Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Where is the surname Holmes most common?

Wikidata records people named Holmes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

How do you pronounce Holmes?

Holmes is /hoʊmz/, one syllable.

Is the surname Holmes getting more or less common?

More common. 150,166 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 156,780 in 2010, up 4.4%.

Is Holmes also a first name?

Yes. Holmes is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Holmes

A surname, carried by 156,780 people in the United States.

Pronounced /hoʊmz/ 1 syllable Soundex H452 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Holmes is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

From holme, variant of holm (“islet”).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 156,780 people named Holmes in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,969 Americans. That is up 4.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 150,166.

#171

rank among US surnames

156,780

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.4%

change since 2000 (was #161)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#162	Mendez	161,717	1,909
#163	Silva	161,633	1,910
#164	Shaw	160,400	1,925
#165	Snyder	160,262	1,927
#166	Mason	160,213	1,927
#167	Dixon	159,480	1,936
#168	Munoz	158,483	1,948

Who is named Holmes

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

57% of people named Holmes identified as white (not Hispanic), 37% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 57%
Black (not Hispanic) 37%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Holmess

58 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Katie Holmes
American actress (born 1978)
Oliver Wendell Holmes
American poet and physician (1809–1894)
Elizabeth Holmes
American biotechnology entrepreneur convicted of fraud, born 1984
Oliver Wendell Holmes
American jurist (1841–1935); US Supreme Court justice from 1902 to 1932
John Holmes
American pornographic actor, 1944–1988
Larry Holmes
American boxer, born 1949
Eleanor Holmes Norton
American lawyer and politician (born 1937)
Ashton Holmes
American actor, born 1978
Richaun Holmes
American basketball player (born 1993)
Phillips Holmes
American actor (1907–1942)
Stuart Holmes
Actor (1884-1971)
William Henry Holmes
American academic, painter and illustrator (1846-1933)

Notable Holmess come mostly from the United States (50), the United Kingdom (5) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Holmes

Holmes has the Soundex code H452, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H452.

Questions

Where does the surname Holmes come from?: From holme, variant of holm (“islet”).
How common is the surname Holmes?: 156,780 people in the United States had the surname Holmes in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,969 Americans. It ranked 171st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Holmes?: In the 2010 Census, 57% of people named Holmes identified as white (not Hispanic), and 37% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Holmes?: Katie Holmes, American actress (born 1978), followed by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Where is the surname Holmes most common?: Wikidata records people named Holmes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Holmes?: Holmes is /hoʊmz/, one syllable.
Is the surname Holmes getting more or less common?: More common. 150,166 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 156,780 in 2010, up 4.4%.
Is Holmes also a first name?: Yes. Holmes is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.