2000
#1,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,294
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.64
Uncommon Last name
Hollingsworth
A locational surname referring to someone from any of several places called Hollingsworth in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,161 Americans carry the last name Hollingsworth. That puts it at #1,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,102 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hollingsworth 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 Hollingsworth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,102
Census rank
#1,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,814 bearers of the surname Hollingsworth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollingsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hollingsworth
The surname Hollingsworth has its roots in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from a place name, likely referring to a person who hailed from a location with a similar moniker. The prefix "Holling" may be derived from the Old English words "hol" meaning hollow or sunken land, and "ing" signifying a meadow or pasture. The suffix "-worth" denotes an enclosure or farm.
One of the earliest mentions of the Hollingsworth name can be found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1289, where it appears as "Holyngworth." This record suggests that the name was already in use and recognized by that time. Over the centuries, various spelling variations emerged, including Hollingworth, Hollingworthe, and Hollingswrth, reflecting the lack of standardized spelling conventions in earlier eras.
In the 14th century, the Hollingsworth name appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire, indicating the presence of individuals bearing this surname in that region. The Yorkshire connection is further reinforced by the existence of a village called Hollingworth, located near Rochdale, which may have served as the origin for some branches of the Hollingsworth family.
One notable individual with this surname was Valentine Hollingsworth (1632-1711), an English Quaker who emigrated to America in the late 17th century. He settled in Pennsylvania and became a prominent figure in the early Quaker community there. Another early American bearer of the name was Levi Hollingsworth (1739-1824), a soldier and statesman from Maryland who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
In the literary realm, the name Hollingsworth gained recognition through the character of Hollingsworth in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Blithedale Romance," published in 1852. This fictional character embodied the ideals of the utopian Brook Farm community, where Hawthorne briefly resided.
Other individuals of note bearing the Hollingsworth surname include:
1. Thomas Hollingsworth (1687-1735), an English mathematician and astronomer.
2. Henry Hollingsworth (1833-1898), an American industrialist and founder of the Hollingsworth & Whitney Company, a major paper manufacturer.
3. Mary Hollingsworth (1916-2003), an American artist and illustrator known for her contributions to children's literature.
4. Roger Hollingsworth (1933-2017), a British historian and academic known for his work on the history of technology and industrialization.
5. Amanda Hollingsworth (born 1979), an American professional basketball player who competed in the WNBA.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hollingsworth
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollingsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hollingsworth 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 Hollingsworth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.7% · 17,501
- Black or African American15.2% · 3,467
- Two or more races3.8% · 868
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 761
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 126
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 91
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hollingsworth
Hollingsworth 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
#1,504
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,831
+537 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 8.08
Rank movement Down 108 places
2020
#1,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,814
-1,017 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 7.63
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,396 | 23,294 | 8.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,504 | 23,831 | 8.08 | +537 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 108 places |
| 2020 | #1,529 | 22,814 | 7.63 | -1,017 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 25 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 Hollingsworth 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 | #1,504 | #1,529 | -1.7% |
| Count | 23,831 | 22,814 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 8.08 | 7.63 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hollingsworth bearers went from 23,831 to 22,814 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,504 to #1,529.
FAQ
Hollingsworth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hollingsworth?
Name Census estimates that about 26,161 living Americans carry the surname Hollingsworth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,102 residents.
How common is Hollingsworth?
Hollingsworth ranks #1,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,814 people with the surname Hollingsworth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,161), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Hollingsworth.
Has Hollingsworth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hollingsworth went from 23,831 recorded bearers to 22,814. That is a decrease of 1,017 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,504 to #1,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Hollingsworth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollingsworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Black (15.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hollingsworth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.7% (17,501 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hollingsworth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.7%), Black (15.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hollingsworth (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 Hollingsworth mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from any of several places called Hollingsworth in England. 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 Hollingsworth (7.63 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 Americans have the surname Hollingsworth?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.