2000
#5,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,509
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.04
Rare Last name
Hollinger
A German occupational surname referring to a producer or seller of elderberry syrup or liquor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,884 Americans carry the last name Hollinger. That puts it at #6,375 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hollinger 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 Hollinger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 58,252
Census rank
#6,375
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,131 bearers of the surname Hollinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6375th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hollinger
The surname Hollinger has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged as a locational name during the medieval period. It is derived from the German words "Hol" and "Linger," which together refer to a person who hailed from a hollow or valley-like area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 15th century, when a Johannes Hollinger was mentioned in a historical document from the town of Alsfeld, located in the modern-day state of Hesse, Germany. The name was also found in various other records from the region during this time, often with slight spelling variations such as Hollingere or Hollengere.
In the 16th century, the Hollinger name began to spread beyond its original heartland, with some bearers migrating to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. One notable figure from this era was Hans Hollinger, a merchant and landowner from the city of Nuremberg, who lived between 1520 and 1583.
As the centuries passed, the Hollinger name continued to disperse across Europe and eventually made its way to the New World. In the late 18th century, a man named Johann Hollinger emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania, where he and his descendants established themselves as farmers and tradesmen.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Johann August Hollinger, a German writer and educator who lived from 1784 to 1846. He is best known for his works on pedagogy and his efforts to promote educational reform in his home country.
During the 19th century, several Hollingers achieved notable status in various fields. One such person was Friedrich Hollinger, a German-born architect who designed several prominent buildings in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he lived from 1848 until his death in 1901.
Additionally, there was Carl Hollinger, an Austrian-born industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the steel industry in the United States. He founded the Hollinger Steel Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1871 and remained at its helm until his passing in 1908.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hollinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hollinger 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 Hollinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 4,100
- Black or African American13.0% · 668
- Two or more races3.2% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 134
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hollinger
Hollinger 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
#6,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,634
+125 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.91
Rank movement Down 334 places
2020
#6,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,131
-503 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 288 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,753 | 5,509 | 2.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,087 | 5,634 | 1.91 | +125 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 334 places |
| 2020 | #6,375 | 5,131 | 1.72 | -503 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 288 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 Hollinger 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 | #6,087 | #6,375 | -4.7% |
| Count | 5,634 | 5,131 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.91 | 1.72 | -10.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hollinger bearers went from 5,634 to 5,131 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 288 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,087 to #6,375.
FAQ
Hollinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hollinger?
Name Census estimates that about 5,884 living Americans carry the surname Hollinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,252 residents.
How common is Hollinger?
Hollinger ranks #6,375 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,131 people with the surname Hollinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,884), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hollinger.
Has Hollinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hollinger went from 5,634 recorded bearers to 5,131. That is a decrease of 503 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,087 to #6,375.
What does the Census say about the background of Hollinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hollinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (4,100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hollinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Black (13.0%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hollinger (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 Hollinger mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a producer or seller of elderberry syrup or liquor. 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 Hollinger (1.72 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 Hollinger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.