2000
#940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,041
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.62
Uncommon Last name
Holden
From an English place name meaning "deep valley," or referring to someone living in a hollow or valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 37,818 Americans carry the last name Holden. That puts it at #1,048 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,063 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holden surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Holden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
38K
1 in 9,063
Census rank
#1,048
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
33K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 32,979 bearers of the surname Holden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1048th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holden, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Holden
The surname Holden is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words 'hol' meaning hollow or dell, and 'denu' meaning valley. It was a topographic name given to someone who lived in a small valley or hollow. The earliest recorded instances of this surname date back to the late 12th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Holden surname was Roger de Holden, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1199. The name also appeared in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it was recorded as both Holdene and Holdene. This suggests that the spelling of the name was not yet standardized.
In the 13th century, the Holden family was well-established in the areas of Holden and Haslingden in Lancashire. They held estates and lands in these regions, which likely contributed to their surname's origin and evolution. The name is also associated with various place names, such as Holden Clough and Holden Wood, in the same county.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Holden surname gained prominence, and several notable individuals bore this name. One such person was John Holden (1542-1629), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was beatified in 1987. Another was Samuel Holden (1640-1719), an English merchant and philanthropist who founded Holden's Free School in London.
In the 18th century, John Holden (1730-1814) was an English industrialist and inventor who played a significant role in the development of the cotton industry. He is credited with introducing the first silk mill in Stockport, Cheshire. Later, in the 19th century, Sir Isaac Holden (1807-1897) was a prominent English industrialist and Liberal politician who served as a Member of Parliament for several constituencies.
Other notable individuals with the Holden surname include Sir Edward Holden (1885-1947), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Governor of Kansas and Governor of Minnesota, and William Holden Hutton (1860-1930), an English novelist and essayist known for his works on the English countryside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holden
Among Census respondents with the surname Holden, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Holden bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Holden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.0% · 24,389
- Black or African American17.1% · 5,637
- Two or more races4.3% · 1,431
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,071
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 234
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 217
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holden
Holden appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,008
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,824
+783 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 11.81
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#1,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,979
-1,845 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 11.03
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #940 | 34,041 | 12.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,008 | 34,824 | 11.81 | +783 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #1,048 | 32,979 | 11.03 | -1,845 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 40 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Holden surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,008 | #1,048 | -4.0% |
| Count | 34,824 | 32,979 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 11.81 | 11.03 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holden bearers went from 34,824 to 32,979 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,008 to #1,048.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Holden
FAQ
Holden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holden?
Name Census estimates that about 37,818 living Americans carry the surname Holden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,063 residents.
How common is Holden?
Holden ranks #1,048 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 32,979 people with the surname Holden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (37,818), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Holden.
Has Holden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holden went from 34,824 recorded bearers to 32,979. That is a decrease of 1,845 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,008 to #1,048.
What does the Census say about the background of Holden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holden, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Holden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.0% (24,389 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.0%), Black (17.1%), Two or More Races (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Holden (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Holden mean?
From an English place name meaning "deep valley," or referring to someone living in a hollow or valley. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Holden (11.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Holden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.