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

Holroyd, 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 Holroyd surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Holroyd in America

Holroyd is the 25486th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Holroyd surname appeared 970 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Holroyd.

We can also compare 2010 data for Holroyd 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 Holroyd

The surname Holroyd is of English origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the place name Holrode in Yorkshire, which itself comes from the Old English words 'holh' meaning 'hollow' and 'rod' meaning 'clearing'.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where a person named Helias de Holrode is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in the area by the mid-12th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there is a reference to a place called 'Holrode' in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which is likely the origin of the surname. The name is also recorded in various other medieval records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, where a William de Holrode is listed.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Sir John Holroyd, who lived in the 14th century and was a member of the gentry in Yorkshire. Another notable figure was Sir Samuel Holroyd (1615-1681), a lawyer and politician who served as a judge in the Court of King's Bench during the reign of Charles II.

In the 17th century, the name was also found in Lancashire, where a branch of the family settled. One of the most prominent individuals from this line was Isaac Holroyd (1676-1737), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who founded a school in Leeds.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, several members of the Holroyd family achieved prominence. These include John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield (1735-1821), a noted writer and politician, and Sarah Holroyd (1781-1861), a diarist and socialite who was acquainted with many famous literary figures of her time.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Charles Holroyd (1809-1887), a British judge and politician who served as a member of parliament and held various legal positions, including that of a judge in the Court of Common Pleas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Holroyd

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

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 Holroyd 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 Holroyd 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 Holroyd was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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