2000
#1,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,488
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.22
Uncommon Last name
Holliday
One who lived near or worked on a holy day or religious festival.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,851 Americans carry the last name Holliday. That puts it at #1,760 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,000 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holliday 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 Holliday with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 15,000
Census rank
#1,760
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,927 bearers of the surname Holliday in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1760th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holliday, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Holliday
The surname Holliday is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "halig" meaning holy, and "dæg" meaning day. It is believed to have originated as a name for someone who lived near a site or church dedicated to a religious holiday or feast day.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various documents and records. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Richard Holliday, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272.
During the medieval period, the name was often spelled in various ways, including Halliday, Holydaye, and Hollyday. These variations reflect the different regional dialects and the evolving spelling conventions of the time.
The Holliday surname is also closely associated with certain place names in England, such as Holliday Hill in Worcestershire and Holliday Farm in Shropshire. These place names likely contributed to the adoption of the surname by people living in those areas.
Notable people throughout history with the surname Holliday include:
1. John Holliday (c. 1493 - 1555), an English churchman and scholar who served as the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
2. Ben Holliday (1819 - 1887), an American entrepreneur and founder of the Overland Mail Company, which operated a stagecoach line across the American West.
3. Doc Holliday (1851 - 1887), an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist who was involved in the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
4. Judy Holliday (1921 - 1965), an American actress and comedian best known for her role in the film "Born Yesterday," for which she won an Academy Award.
5. Billie Holliday (1915 - 1959), an influential American jazz singer and songwriter, often referred to as "Lady Day" and renowned for her distinctive vocal style.
While the Holliday surname has its roots in England, it has since spread across the globe and can be found in various parts of the world, reflecting the migration patterns and cultural exchanges that have shaped human history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holliday
Among Census respondents with the surname Holliday, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Holliday 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 Holliday surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.2% · 13,195
- Black or African American24.8% · 4,944
- Two or more races4.3% · 866
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 630
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 189
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 103
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holliday
Holliday 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
#1,748
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,491
+1,003 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 6.95
Rank movement Down 62 places
2020
#1,760
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,927
-564 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 6.67
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,686 | 19,488 | 7.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,748 | 20,491 | 6.95 | +1,003 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 62 places |
| 2020 | #1,760 | 19,927 | 6.67 | -564 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 12 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 Holliday 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 | #1,748 | #1,760 | -0.7% |
| Count | 20,491 | 19,927 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 6.95 | 6.67 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holliday bearers went from 20,491 to 19,927 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,748 to #1,760.
FAQ
Holliday surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holliday?
Name Census estimates that about 22,851 living Americans carry the surname Holliday. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,000 residents.
How common is Holliday?
Holliday ranks #1,760 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,927 people with the surname Holliday. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,851), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Holliday.
Has Holliday become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holliday went from 20,491 recorded bearers to 19,927. That is a decrease of 564 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,748 to #1,760.
What does the Census say about the background of Holliday?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holliday, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) 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 Holliday in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (13,195 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holliday appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.2%), Black (24.8%), 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 Holliday (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 Holliday mean?
One who lived near or worked on a holy day or religious festival. 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 Holliday (6.67 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 Holliday?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.