Holt
A unisex name of Old English origin meaning "from the holt or woods".
Name Census estimates that about 1,663 living Americans carry the first name Holt. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Holt today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Holt births was 2019 (87 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Holt. 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
- • Holt is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 206,106 Americans
Peak year
2019
87 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,920
Tracked since 1906
Census
Holt in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,370 people with the first name Holt, which placed it at #9,919 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
#9,919
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,370 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holt
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Holt is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Holt 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 Holt at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,234
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 51
- Two or more races2.8% · 39
- Black or African American2.3% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Popularity
Holt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Holt from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 632 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Holt remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Holt 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 Holt during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Holts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, California recorded the most babies named Holt, while Wisconsin, Ohio, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Holt
The name Holt has its origins in Old English, deriving from the word "holt" which means a small wooded area or a copse. It was initially used as a surname, describing someone who lived near or in a small wooded area. The name has been in use since the 11th century, with records showing it as a surname in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Holt transitioned from being solely a surname to also being used as a given name, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles. It gained popularity as a first name during the 19th century, as part of the broader trend of using surnames as given names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Holt as a given name can be found in the works of the English novelist and playwright, Thomas Holcroft (1745-1809). He featured a character named Holt in his 1792 novel, "The Adventures of Hugh Trevor."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the first name Holt. One of the most famous was Holt Collier (1846-1909), an African-American former slave who became a successful author and lecturer. His autobiographical works, including "Life of Holt Collier" and "Every Persecuted Man's Evidence," shed light on the experiences of enslaved people in the American South.
Another prominent figure was Holt Graham (1887-1965), an American golfer and golf course architect. He won several notable tournaments, including the Western Open in 1913 and 1919, and designed numerous golf courses across the United States.
In the field of literature, Holt Ingram (1883-1958) was an American author and journalist, best known for his works on the American West, such as "The Story of the West" and "The Book of the West."
Holt Ruffin (1854-1909) was an African-American businessman and landowner in Mississippi, who became one of the wealthiest black men in the state during the late 19th century.
Lastly, Holt Parker (1905-1998) was an American actor and film producer, who appeared in several notable films such as "The Green Slime" and "The Kentuckian."
The name Holt, while not as common as some other names, has a rich history spanning centuries and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including authors, athletes, businessmen, and actors.
People
Holt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Holt 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
Holt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Holt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,663 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Holt 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 206,106 US residents.
Is Holt a common name?
We classify Holt as "Rare". It ranks above 92.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,842 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Holt most popular?
The single biggest year for Holt was 2019, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Holt is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Holt in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,370 people with the name Holt, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,919 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 Holt 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 Holt?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Holt leans strongly male. 1,314 people counted with this name were male (95.8%), compared with 58 female bearers (4.2%). 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 Holt?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Holt is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Holt most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Holt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,234 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 Holt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Holt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Holt 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.
Is Holt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Holt 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 Holt 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 many people are named Holt?
Find out how many people have the name Holt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.