2000
#5,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,608
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Hollister
A surname derived from a place name meaning "holly trees."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,285 Americans carry the last name Hollister. That puts it at #6,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,535 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hollister 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 Hollister with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,535
Census rank
#6,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,481 bearers of the surname Hollister in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollister, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hollister
The surname Hollister is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'hol' meaning 'hollow' and 'ster' meaning 'a place'. It is a locational name that referred to someone who lived near a hollow or sunken area of land.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various counties across England, including Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Oxfordshire. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ralph de Hollostr, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1275.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries that may be related to the Hollister name, such as 'Holehest' in Suffolk and 'Holesterne' in Devon.
The name has also been associated with various place names, such as Hollister in Berkshire and Holster in Gloucestershire. These place names likely derived from the same Old English roots as the surname, further reinforcing the locational origin of the name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Hollister. One of the earliest was John Hollister (c. 1612-1665), who was one of the founders of Wethersfield, Connecticut, and served as a deputy to the General Court of Connecticut.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Gideon Hollister (1619-1692), who was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of Glastonbury, Connecticut. His son, Stephen Hollister (1647-1720), was a militia captain during King Philip's War and later served as a deacon in the Congregational Church.
In the 19th century, George Hollister (1818-1900) was a noted businessman and philanthropist from Connecticut. He co-founded the Hollister Brothers Woolen Mills and donated funds for the construction of several public buildings in his hometown.
One of the most famous individuals with the Hollister surname was John Chipman Hollister (1819-1886), an American educator and author who served as the president of several universities, including Beaver College and the Illinois State Normal University.
Another notable figure was Ovando James Hollister (1826-1886), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Shiloh and the Siege of Vicksburg.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hollister
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollister, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hollister 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 Hollister surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 4,774
- Black or African American4.4% · 239
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 191
- Two or more races3.4% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hollister
Hollister 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
#5,992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,736
+128 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.94
Rank movement Down 317 places
2020
#6,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,481
-255 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,675 | 5,608 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,992 | 5,736 | 1.94 | +128 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 317 places |
| 2020 | #6,028 | 5,481 | 1.83 | -255 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 36 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 Hollister 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 | #5,992 | #6,028 | -0.6% |
| Count | 5,736 | 5,481 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.94 | 1.83 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hollister bearers went from 5,736 to 5,481 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,992 to #6,028.
FAQ
Hollister surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hollister?
Name Census estimates that about 6,285 living Americans carry the surname Hollister. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,535 residents.
How common is Hollister?
Hollister ranks #6,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.83 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 5,481 people with the surname Hollister. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,285), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.83 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 Hollister.
Has Hollister become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hollister went from 5,736 recorded bearers to 5,481. That is a decrease of 255 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,992 to #6,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Hollister?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hollister, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Hollister in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (4,774 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hollister appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Black (4.4%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Hollister (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 Hollister mean?
A surname derived from a place name meaning "holly trees." 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 Hollister (1.83 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 Hollister?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.