Hollye
A feminine name meaning "meadow holly", from nature.
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Hollye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hollye today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hollye births was 1984 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hollye. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hollye with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
1984
19 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2007 SSA rank
#13,120
Tracked since 1954
Census
Hollye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 443 people with the first name Hollye, which placed it at #22,452 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,452
National first-name rank
People counted
443
443 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hollye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hollye is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hollye described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hollye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 368
- Black or African American9.7% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 15
- Two or more races3.2% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Popularity
Hollye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hollye from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hollye 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 Hollye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hollyes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hollye
The given name Hollye is a variant spelling of the English name Holly, which has origins dating back to medieval times. The name is derived from the Old English word 'holen', meaning holly tree or holly bush. The holly plant was revered in ancient pagan cultures for its evergreen foliage and bright red berries, symbolizing life and fertility during the winter months.
The earliest recorded use of the name Hollye can be traced back to the 13th century in England, where it was initially a unisex name. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hollye de Chelsfeld, who lived in Kent, England, in the late 1200s. The name gained popularity among Christians during the Middle Ages, as the holly plant held significant symbolism in Christmas celebrations and religious iconography.
In the 16th century, the name Hollye appeared in several historical records and literary works. One notable example is Hollye Trevithick, a Cornish woman born in 1542, who was accused of witchcraft during the English Renaissance period. The name also appeared in the works of renowned playwright William Shakespeare, who mentioned a character named Hollye in his play "The Merry Wives of Windsor".
Throughout history, the name Hollye has been borne by various notable individuals, including Hollye Somerville (1780-1872), a British mathematician and scientist known for her contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. Another prominent figure was Hollye Martyn (1891-1965), an American writer and journalist who covered World War I and authored several novels and non-fiction works.
In the 20th century, the name Hollye gained popularity in the United States. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Hollye Hunter (1958-), an American actress and producer who starred in various films and television series, including "The Piano" and "Broadcast News". Additionally, Hollye Dexter (1963-), an American singer-songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Throwing Muses, also bore this name.
While the name Hollye has maintained a degree of popularity over the centuries, it remains a relatively uncommon name compared to its more traditional spelling, Holly. Nevertheless, the name continues to carry a rich historical and cultural significance, rooted in ancient pagan traditions and Christian symbolism.
People
Hollye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hollye 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
Hollye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hollye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hollye 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 869,935 US residents.
Is Hollye a common name?
We classify Hollye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 445 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hollye most popular?
The single biggest year for Hollye was 1984, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hollye is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hollye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 443 people with the name Hollye, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,452 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hollye in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hollye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hollye leans strongly female. 444 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hollye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hollye is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hollye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hollye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (368 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hollye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hollye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hollye in the SSA data are female. 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.
Is Hollye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hollye in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hollye can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Hollye?
See how many Americans are named Hollye on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.