2000
#3,603
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,060
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.36
Uncommon Last name
Hollins
Derived from a place name meaning "holly trees" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near hollies.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,173 Americans carry the last name Hollins. That puts it at #3,571 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,677 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hollins 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 Hollins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,677
Census rank
#3,571
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,743 bearers of the surname Hollins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3571st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hollins
The surname Hollins originated in England during the medieval period, deriving from the Old English words "hol" meaning a hollow or sunken place, and "ingas" signifying a people or tribe. It is a locational name, referring to people who hailed from a particular area characterized by hollows or low-lying lands.
One of the earliest records of this surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Holins." This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest, with its bearers potentially residing in areas like Hollingworth in Cheshire or Hollington in Sussex.
During the 13th century, the surname appears in various forms, such as "de Holin," "de Holyn," and "de Hollyne," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common in medieval times. These variations likely arose due to differences in local dialects and the inconsistent nature of written records.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Hollins, a prominent landowner and knight from Nottinghamshire, who lived in the late 14th century. Another historical figure was Richard Hollins, a merchant from Bristol who served as the city's Mayor in 1483.
In the 16th century, the surname took on its more modern spelling of "Hollins," as evidenced in the records of St. Mary's Church in Nottingham, where the baptism of a child named Thomas Hollins was recorded in 1587.
During the 17th century, the name spread across various counties in England, with notable bearers including William Hollins (1594-1676), a wealthy landowner and Justice of the Peace in Staffordshire, and Robert Hollins (1631-1697), a clergyman and author from Lancashire.
The 18th century saw the rise of several influential individuals with the Hollins surname, such as Samuel Hollins (1718-1789), a prosperous merchant and landowner in Yorkshire, and John Hollins (1749-1828), a renowned architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London.
As the centuries progressed, the Hollins name continued to spread across England and beyond, with some bearers emigrating to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over time, its origins remain firmly rooted in the English countryside, where the hollows and low-lying lands gave rise to this distinctive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hollins
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hollins 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 Hollins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.9% · 7,005
- White19.1% · 1,865
- Two or more races5.7% · 559
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 263
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hollins
Hollins 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
#3,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,213
+1,153 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 3.46
Rank movement Up 104 places
2020
#3,571
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,743
-470 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 3.26
Rank movement Down 72 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,603 | 9,060 | 3.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,499 | 10,213 | 3.46 | +1,153 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 104 places |
| 2020 | #3,571 | 9,743 | 3.26 | -470 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 72 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 Hollins 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 | #3,499 | #3,571 | -2.1% |
| Count | 10,213 | 9,743 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.46 | 3.26 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hollins bearers went from 10,213 to 9,743 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 72 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,499 to #3,571.
FAQ
Hollins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hollins?
Name Census estimates that about 11,173 living Americans carry the surname Hollins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,677 residents.
How common is Hollins?
Hollins ranks #3,571 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,743 people with the surname Hollins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,173), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hollins.
Has Hollins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hollins went from 10,213 recorded bearers to 9,743. That is a decrease of 470 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,499 to #3,571.
What does the Census say about the background of Hollins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollins, the largest self-reported group is Black at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Hollins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.9% (7,005 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hollins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (71.9%), White (19.1%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Hollins (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 Hollins mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "holly trees" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near hollies. 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 Hollins (3.26 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 last name Hollins?
Want to know how many people are called Hollins? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.