Holger
A Scandinavian masculine name derived from old Norse words meaning "herdsman" or "army leader".
Name Census estimates that about 54 living Americans carry the first name Holger. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Holger today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Holger births was 1916 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Holger. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Holger. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
54
~ 1 in 6,347,303 Americans
Peak year
1916
16 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2002 SSA rank
#11,330
Tracked since 1898
Popularity
Holger: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Holger from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 83 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Holger by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Holger during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Holger
The name Holger has its origins in Old Norse and Old Danish languages, originating from the regions of modern-day Scandinavia and parts of northern Germany. It is believed to have emerged around the 8th to 10th centuries during the Viking Age. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "holr" meaning "hollow" or "cave" and "ger" meaning "spear."
This Germanic name was popularized among the Norsemen and Norse settlers, with early records indicating its usage in various areas of Scandinavia and the regions they traveled to or settled in. The name can be found in ancient Norse sagas and texts, reflecting its prevalence among the Vikings and their cultural influence.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Holger dates back to the 9th century, with a Danish king named Holger Danske, who ruled parts of modern-day Denmark and Sweden. According to legend, King Holger Danske is said to be sleeping in the catacombs of the Kronborg Castle, waiting to awaken and defend Denmark in times of great peril.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Holger. Some examples include Holger Paulli (1644-1714), a Danish scientist and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plants and their medicinal properties. Another prominent figure was Holger Pedersen (1867-1953), a Danish linguist and scholar renowned for his work on the Tocharian languages and Indo-European studies.
In the literary world, Holger Drachmann (1846-1908) was a celebrated Danish poet, playwright, and painter who played a significant role in the Modern Breakthrough movement in Scandinavian literature. Additionally, Holger Danske's legend inspired the works of several Danish authors and poets, further cementing the name's cultural significance.
Another notable bearer of the name was Holger Crafoord (1908-1982), a Swedish industrialist and philanthropist who established the prestigious Crafoord Prize, awarded annually in various fields of science and mathematics.
It is worth mentioning that the name Holger has also been used in other cultural contexts, such as in the German opera "Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Richard Wagner, where the character Hagen is sometimes referred to as Holger.
People
Holger + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Holger as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Holger: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Holger?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 54 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Holger going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 6,347,303 US residents.
Is Holger a common name?
We classify Holger as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 244 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Holger most popular?
The single biggest year for Holger was 1916, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Holger is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Holger a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Holger in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.