2000
#10,478
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,811
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Holdren
Derived from a place name meaning "hollow near the woods" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,998 Americans carry the last name Holdren. That puts it at #11,513 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,328 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holdren 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.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 114,328
Census rank
#11,513
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,614 bearers of the surname Holdren in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11513th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holdren, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Holdren
The surname Holdren has its origins in England, tracing back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words 'holh' meaning hollow or dell, and 'ryn' meaning a stream or small river. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a small stream in a hollow or valley.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1190, where it appears as 'Holderene'. Other early spellings include 'Holdren', 'Holderon', and 'Holdryne', reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common in medieval times.
The Holdren surname is also linked to several place names in England, such as Holdernessefeld in Yorkshire and Holderynhouse in Gloucestershire. These place names likely originated from the same Old English roots and may have influenced the surname's development.
Notable individuals with the Holdren surname include:
1. John Holdren (c. 1490 - 1560), an English yeoman farmer from Wiltshire, whose descendants are recorded in parish records from the 16th century.
2. William Holdren (1635 - 1712), one of the earliest settlers in Pennsylvania, who arrived in the American colonies from England in the late 17th century.
3. Rebecca Holdren (1705 - 1782), an early colonial-era settler in Virginia, known for her diary which documented daily life in the frontier settlements.
4. Isaac Holdren (1788 - 1865), an American farmer and militia captain during the War of 1812, from Ohio.
5. Eliza Holdren (1820 - 1896), a prolific author and poet from New York, who published several collections of works in the mid-19th century.
While the Holdren surname has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through immigration to North America and other English-speaking regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holdren
Among Census respondents with the surname Holdren, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Holdren 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 Holdren surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 2,346
- Two or more races4.4% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 88
- Black or African American1.0% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holdren
Holdren 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
#11,275
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,802
-9 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 797 places
2020
#11,513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,614
-188 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 238 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,478 | 2,811 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,275 | 2,802 | 0.95 | -9 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 797 places |
| 2020 | #11,513 | 2,614 | 0.87 | -188 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 238 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 Holdren 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 | #11,275 | #11,513 | -2.1% |
| Count | 2,802 | 2,614 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.87 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holdren bearers went from 2,802 to 2,614 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 238 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,275 to #11,513.
FAQ
Holdren surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holdren?
Name Census estimates that about 2,998 living Americans carry the surname Holdren. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,328 residents.
How common is Holdren?
Holdren ranks #11,513 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,614 people with the surname Holdren. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,998), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Holdren.
Has Holdren become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holdren went from 2,802 recorded bearers to 2,614. That is a decrease of 188 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,275 to #11,513.
What does the Census say about the background of Holdren?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holdren, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Holdren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,346 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holdren appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Holdren (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 Holdren mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hollow near the woods" in Old English. 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 Holdren (0.87 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 Holdren?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.