2000
#13,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,085
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Hollie
Derived from the Old English byname Holye, referring to someone who lived near a holly tree or grove.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,389 Americans carry the last name Hollie. That puts it at #13,883 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,472 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hollie 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
2.4K
1 in 143,472
Census rank
#13,883
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,083 bearers of the surname Hollie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13883rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 61.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.0%) and Two or More Races (6.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hollie
The surname Hollie originated in Scotland, derived from the Old English word "hol", which means a hollow or deep valley. This name was initially adopted by individuals who lived near such topographical features.
Hollie is found in records dating back to the 12th century, with early recorded spellings including Hollie, Holie, Holi, and Holie. The surname is believed to have originated in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in areas like Dumfriesshire, Lanarkshire, and Ayrshire.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Hollie can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded the names of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. Among those listed was Alexander de Holie, who held lands in Berwickshire.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Alexander Hollie, a Scottish minister and reformer born in Arbroath in 1498. He played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation and was appointed as the first Protestant minister of St. Andrews in 1560.
Another notable figure was John Hollie, born in Edinburgh in 1542. He was a Scottish philosopher and historian who studied at the University of St. Andrews and later became a professor at the University of Paris.
In the 17th century, James Hollie, born in Stirling in 1617, was a prominent Scottish mathematician and astronomer. He served as the Regius Professor of Mathematics at the University of St. Andrews and made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and trigonometry.
Moving into the 18th century, Robert Hollie, born in Lanarkshire in 1732, was a renowned Scottish poet and playwright. His works, which often celebrated Scottish culture and heritage, gained widespread popularity during his lifetime.
Lastly, in the 19th century, Margaret Hollie, born in Dumfriesshire in 1825, was a notable Scottish philanthropist and social reformer. She dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of the working class and advocated for various social causes, including education and healthcare.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hollie
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 61.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.0%) and Two or More Races (6.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hollie 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 Hollie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.4% · 1,280
- White28.0% · 584
- Two or more races6.2% · 129
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hollie
Hollie 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
#13,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,351
+266 bearers (+12.8%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 339 places
2020
#13,883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,083
-268 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 826 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,396 | 2,085 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,057 | 2,351 | 0.80 | +266 bearers (+12.8%) | Up 339 places |
| 2020 | #13,883 | 2,083 | 0.70 | -268 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 826 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 Hollie 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 | #13,057 | #13,883 | -6.3% |
| Count | 2,351 | 2,083 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.70 | -12.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hollie bearers went from 2,351 to 2,083 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 826 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,057 to #13,883.
FAQ
Hollie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hollie?
Name Census estimates that about 2,389 living Americans carry the surname Hollie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,472 residents.
How common is Hollie?
Hollie ranks #13,883 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,083 people with the surname Hollie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,389), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Hollie.
Has Hollie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hollie went from 2,351 recorded bearers to 2,083. That is a decrease of 268 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,057 to #13,883.
What does the Census say about the background of Hollie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollie, the largest self-reported group is Black at 61.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.0%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hollie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.4% (1,280 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hollie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (61.4%), White (28.0%), Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Hollie (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 Hollie mean?
Derived from the Old English byname Holye, referring to someone who lived near a holly tree or grove. 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 Hollie (0.70 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 are called Hollie?
Find out how many people have the last name Hollie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.