Find out how popular the last name Holman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Holman.

Holman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Holman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Holman in America

Holman is the 1069th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Holman surname appeared 32,788 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Holman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Holman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Holman

The surname Holman is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the early medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hol" meaning hollow or hole, and "mann" meaning man. Thus, the name Holman likely referred to someone who lived near a hollow or depression in the landscape.

The earliest recorded instances of the Holman surname date back to the late 12th century, appearing in various medieval records and documents. One notable example is a reference to a Robert Holman in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1195.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name appeared in various forms, such as Hollman, Holman, and Holeman, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. It is possible that some variations of the name may have originated from place names, such as Holman in Dorset or Holman's Green in Buckinghamshire.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Holman surname was Sir John Holman, a prominent English landowner and Member of Parliament who lived during the late 15th century. He was born around 1450 and served as the High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1498.

Another notable figure was William Holman, an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in 1555 during the Marian Persecutions for his religious beliefs. He was a weaver by trade and lived in the city of Norwich.

In the 17th century, the Holman family established themselves as prominent landowners and politicians in Somerset and Devon. Sir John Holman (1602-1681) was a Member of Parliament for Somerset and played a significant role in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause.

During the 18th century, the Reverend James Holman (1786-1857) gained recognition as a remarkable traveler and writer, despite being blind from an early age. He published several books detailing his extensive travels across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In the artistic realm, Holman Hunt (1827-1910), whose full name was William Holman Hunt, was a renowned English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a influential artistic movement in Victorian England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Holman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Holman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Holman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Holman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Holman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Holman, please contact us.

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