2000
#1,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,514
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.68
Uncommon Last name
Holman
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived on an island or near a small river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 36,051 Americans carry the last name Holman. That puts it at #1,097 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,507 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holman 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 Holman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
36K
1 in 9,507
Census rank
#1,097
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,438 bearers of the surname Holman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1097th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holman, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holman
Among Census respondents with the surname Holman, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Holman 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 Holman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.5% · 20,905
- Black or African American23.9% · 7,517
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,453
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 1,170
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 214
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 179
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holman
Holman 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
#1,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,788
+1,274 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 11.12
Rank movement Down 53 places
2020
#1,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,438
-1,350 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 10.52
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,016 | 31,514 | 11.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,069 | 32,788 | 11.12 | +1,274 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 53 places |
| 2020 | #1,097 | 31,438 | 10.52 | -1,350 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 28 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 Holman 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 | #1,069 | #1,097 | -2.6% |
| Count | 32,788 | 31,438 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 11.12 | 10.52 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holman bearers went from 32,788 to 31,438 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,069 to #1,097.
FAQ
Holman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holman?
Name Census estimates that about 36,051 living Americans carry the surname Holman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,507 residents.
How common is Holman?
Holman ranks #1,097 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,438 people with the surname Holman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (36,051), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Holman.
Has Holman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holman went from 32,788 recorded bearers to 31,438. That is a decrease of 1,350 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,069 to #1,097.
What does the Census say about the background of Holman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holman, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Holman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (20,905 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.5%), Black (23.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Holman (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 Holman mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived on an island or near a small river. 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 Holman (10.52 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 are called Holman?
If you just want to know how common the surname Holman is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.