The Hollister surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,736 people carried this name — #5,992 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 51,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 5,608 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Hollister surname

The surname is a feminine derivative of Hollier, itself from Old French holier (“adulterer, lecher”), in this case extended to refer to a female brothel-keeper, (i.e. a madam). The originally feminine occupational suffix -ster has given rise to many such personal names which today might instead be either masculine or ungendered altogether.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hollister» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

65 families named Hollister, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 427 people lived in those households, 6.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 44
New York 10
Vermont 8
Massachusetts 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hollister in American newspapers,
1903–1917.

Newspaper page from The Starkville News carrying the name Hollister
The Starkville News 1903-07-03
Newspaper page from The Daily Missoulian carrying the name Hollister
The Daily Missoulian 1917-10-12
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Hollister
Daily Kennebec Journal 1906-01-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 164,315 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hollister in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

2,251 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hollister. The most, 731, date from the 1910s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 744
South Australia 470
New South Wales 376
Queensland 274
Western Australia 234
Tasmania 135
ACT (Canberra) 5
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hollister.

Who carried it

People named Hollister,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Gideon Hiram Hollister
    Gideon Hiram Hollister 1817–1881 · writer
  • John C. Hollister
    John C. Hollister 1818–1903 · military personnel
  • Babette Solon Hollister d. 2020 · economist
  • Dennis Hollister d. 1676
  • Stephen Hollister 1658–1709
  • Thomas Hollister, Jr. 1672–1741

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hollister,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States580 records

580 records of the Hollister name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 181
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 132
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 113
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 93
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 28
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 27
  • Sacramento County historic burials 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lyman H. Hollister

    Born 1920 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Rochester; route man from Steuben County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at West Hill Cemetery, Galeton, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Homer Warren Hollister

    Born 1948; from Moscow, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died in an accident 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Luke Hollister

    Arrived at New York in 1863 aboard the Adelaide from Liverpool, aged 21; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 580 records for Hollister in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia59 records

59 records of the Hollister name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 32
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 21
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Stephen Hollister

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Moffatt, sailing from Portsmouth in 1842. Native of Somerset.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Richard Hollister

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the William Hyde, aged 28; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Francis J. Hollister

    Former miner of Stanley, Victoria; died 1937.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 59 records for Hollister in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Hollister name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Rosco Ernest Hollister

    Buried in 1989 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 88.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harriett L. Hollister

    Died 1917; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Alexander Hollister

    Died 1933; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Hollister in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Hollister name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Hollister

    Grenadier Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Hollister

    Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Hollister

    Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Hollister in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hollister.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hollister is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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