2000
#14,115
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Holdsworth
Derived from a place name meaning "Hōld's enclosure" in Old English, referring to a person who lived there.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,207 Americans carry the last name Holdsworth. That puts it at #14,793 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,303 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holdsworth 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 Holdsworth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,303
Census rank
#14,793
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,925 bearers of the surname Holdsworth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14793rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holdsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Holdsworth
The surname Holdsworth is of English origin, derived from a place name in the West Yorkshire region of England. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name Holdsworth is a combination of two Old English words: "holh," meaning a hollow or valley, and "worth," meaning an enclosed settlement or farm. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or came from a settlement located in a small valley or hollow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Holdsworth can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, which mention a John de Holdsworth. The name also appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, indicating its presence in the region during that time.
In the 16th century, the name Holdsworth was sometimes spelled variations like Holdesworth or Houldsworth, reflecting the fluid nature of spelling conventions in earlier centuries.
Notable individuals with the surname Holdsworth throughout history include:
1. Richard Holdsworth (1590-1649), an English theologian and academic who served as the Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
2. Arthur Holdsworth (1798-1886), a British politician and member of Parliament for the rotten borough of Dartmouth from 1847 to 1857.
3. Sir William Holdsworth (1871-1944), an English legal historian and Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University.
4. Sir William Arthur Holdsworth (1833-1907), a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 1896 to 1901.
5. Sir William Wort Holdsworth (1853-1924), a British lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements from 1911 to 1915.
The name Holdsworth is also associated with several place names in England, such as Holdsworth in West Yorkshire, which likely took its name from the original settlers or landowners in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holdsworth
Among Census respondents with the surname Holdsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Holdsworth 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 Holdsworth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 1,783
- Two or more races2.9% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 20
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holdsworth
Holdsworth 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
#14,870
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,991
+35 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 755 places
2020
#14,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,925
-66 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,115 | 1,956 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,870 | 1,991 | 0.67 | +35 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 755 places |
| 2020 | #14,793 | 1,925 | 0.64 | -66 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 77 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 Holdsworth 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 | #14,870 | #14,793 | 0.5% |
| Count | 1,991 | 1,925 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.64 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holdsworth bearers went from 1,991 to 1,925 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,870 to #14,793.
FAQ
Holdsworth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holdsworth?
Name Census estimates that about 2,207 living Americans carry the surname Holdsworth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,303 residents.
How common is Holdsworth?
Holdsworth ranks #14,793 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,925 people with the surname Holdsworth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,207), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Holdsworth.
Has Holdsworth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holdsworth went from 1,991 recorded bearers to 1,925. That is a decrease of 66 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,870 to #14,793.
What does the Census say about the background of Holdsworth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holdsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Holdsworth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (1,783 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holdsworth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Holdsworth (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 Holdsworth mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Hōld's enclosure" in Old English, referring to a person who lived there. 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 Holdsworth (0.64 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 have the surname Holdsworth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.