2000
#2,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,436
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.24
Uncommon Last name
Holton
Derived from a place name meaning "hollow town" or "town in the hollow" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,373 Americans carry the last name Holton. That puts it at #3,268 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,702 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Holton 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 Holton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 27,702
Census rank
#3,268
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,790 bearers of the surname Holton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3268th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Holton, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Holton
The surname Holton is of English origin, derived from a place name referring to a settlement or town in a hollow or valley. It is believed to have originated in the 12th century, with early spellings including Holtun, Holtune, and Holton.
The name Holton is found in several early records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions several places named Holton in various counties across England. One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Robert de Holtun, recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195.
During the medieval period, the Holton family settled in various parts of England, including Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, and Somerset. Notable individuals from this time include Sir John Holton, a Knight of Oxfordshire who lived in the late 13th century, and William Holton, a landowner in Somerset mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Holton surname continued to spread across England, with records showing bearers in counties such as Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire. One notable figure from this period was Thomas Holton, a merchant from London who was born in 1580 and became involved in the Virginia Company, which established the first permanent English settlement in North America.
The 18th and 19th centuries saw Holtons migrate to various parts of the British Empire, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand. One prominent individual was Isaac Holton, a British naval officer born in 1745, who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a successful merchant in Nova Scotia.
Other notable Holtons throughout history include Craven Holton (1782-1857), an English clergyman and author; Amelia Holton (1852-1917), an American educator and suffragist; and Edward Holton (1815-1892), a British barrister and Member of Parliament.
The Holton surname has maintained a presence in various parts of the English-speaking world, with descendants found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. While the name has evolved over time, its origins can be traced back to the medieval English place names referring to settlements in hollows or valleys.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Holton
Among Census respondents with the surname Holton, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Holton 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 Holton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.3% · 8,235
- Black or African American15.0% · 1,622
- Two or more races4.0% · 435
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 376
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Holton
Holton 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
#3,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,731
+295 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Down 177 places
2020
#3,268
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,790
-941 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 3.61
Rank movement Down 210 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,881 | 11,436 | 4.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,058 | 11,731 | 3.98 | +295 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 177 places |
| 2020 | #3,268 | 10,790 | 3.61 | -941 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 210 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 Holton 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 | #3,058 | #3,268 | -6.9% |
| Count | 11,731 | 10,790 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.98 | 3.61 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Holton bearers went from 11,731 to 10,790 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 210 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,058 to #3,268.
FAQ
Holton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Holton?
Name Census estimates that about 12,373 living Americans carry the surname Holton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,702 residents.
How common is Holton?
Holton ranks #3,268 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,790 people with the surname Holton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,373), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Holton.
Has Holton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Holton went from 11,731 recorded bearers to 10,790. That is a decrease of 941 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,058 to #3,268.
What does the Census say about the background of Holton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Holton, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Holton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (8,235 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Holton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.3%), Black (15.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Holton (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 Holton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hollow town" or "town in the hollow" in Old English. 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 Holton (3.61 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 Holton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.