2000
#8,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,418
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Holmquist
A Swedish toponymic surname derived from the words "holm" meaning islet and "qvist" meaning twig or branch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,761 Americans carry the last name Holmquist. That puts it at #9,482 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,134 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holmquist 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.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 91,134
Census rank
#9,482
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,280 bearers of the surname Holmquist in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9482nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holmquist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Holmquist
The surname Holmquist originated in Sweden, deriving from the Old Norse words "holmr" meaning a small island or river holme, and "qvist" meaning a tree branch. It was initially a topographic name given to someone who lived on a small island or near a river holme surrounded by branches or trees.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a Holmqvist family was mentioned in the Diplomatarium Suecanum, a collection of medieval Swedish diplomatic documents. Similar spellings from that period include Holmquist, Holmkvist, and Holmkwist.
In the late 15th century, a Henrik Holmquist was recorded as a landowner in the Västergötland region of Sweden. Another early mention is of a Brynolf Holmquist, a clergyman who served as a canon in the Linköping Cathedral in the 1520s.
The name Holmquist can also be found in the Älvsborgs lösen, a historic tax record from the 16th century, which lists several individuals with this surname living in the Älvsborg County of southwestern Sweden.
A notable Holmquist from the 17th century was Johan Holmquist (1639-1701), a Swedish clergyman and author who served as the rector of the Linköping Cathedral School.
In the 19th century, Carl Adolf Holmquist (1819-1892) was a Swedish politician and journalist who served as a member of the Riksdag, the national legislature of Sweden.
Another prominent individual was Hjalmar Holmquist (1884-1952), a Swedish artist and illustrator known for his illustrations of fairy tales and Swedish folklore.
While the name is particularly common in Sweden, it has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration. For example, John Holmquist (1853-1935) was a Swedish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Holmquist Watch Company in New York.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holmquist
Among Census respondents with the surname Holmquist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Holmquist 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 Holmquist surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 3,033
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 117
- Two or more races2.6% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 29
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holmquist
Holmquist 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
#9,563
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,399
-19 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 737 places
2020
#9,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,280
-119 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Up 81 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,826 | 3,418 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,563 | 3,399 | 1.15 | -19 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 737 places |
| 2020 | #9,482 | 3,280 | 1.10 | -119 bearers (-3.5%) | Up 81 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 Holmquist 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 | #9,563 | #9,482 | 0.8% |
| Count | 3,399 | 3,280 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.15 | 1.10 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holmquist bearers went from 3,399 to 3,280 (-3.5% change). The surname moved up 81 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,563 to #9,482.
FAQ
Holmquist surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holmquist?
Name Census estimates that about 3,761 living Americans carry the surname Holmquist. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,134 residents.
How common is Holmquist?
Holmquist ranks #9,482 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,280 people with the surname Holmquist. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,761), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Holmquist.
Has Holmquist become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holmquist went from 3,399 recorded bearers to 3,280. That is a decrease of 119 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,563 to #9,482.
What does the Census say about the background of Holmquist?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holmquist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Holmquist in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (3,033 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holmquist appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Holmquist (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 Holmquist mean?
A Swedish toponymic surname derived from the words "holm" meaning islet and "qvist" meaning twig or branch. 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 Holmquist (1.10 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 share the surname Holmquist?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.