The Holman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 32,788 people carried this name — #1,069 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,990 people counted. That is up 4% from 31,514 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Holman surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the holy man’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Walter Halloman, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Hollyman, Holman, Holeyman, Holliman, Holloman and Holyman.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 394 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 307 people named Holman live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 197
Santa Fe 60
La Pampa 28
City of Buenos Aires 22

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 5 births for the Holman name in 1890.

Most were registered in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 2
Munster 2
Ulster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

32 people named Holman live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Aargau 8
Basel-Stadt 6
Basel-Landschaft 4
Geneva 4
Thurgau 4
Fribourg 3
Zurich 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 28 people named Holman.

9 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often French Polynesia.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 9
French Polynesia 12
Sarthe 3
Calvados 2
Eure-et-Loir 1
Paris 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

126 people named Holman are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 93
Finland (2026) 33

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Holman was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Sussex: 18 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 556. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Sussex 18
Cornwall 10

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

128 families named Holman, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 746 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 11 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

Massachusetts 32
North Carolina 31
Pennsylvania 20
Virginia 17
South Carolina 15
New Hampshire 8
Maine 2
Vermont 1
Connecticut 1
Maryland 1

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

Holman in American newspapers,
1898–1899.

Newspaper page from The Houston Daily Post carrying the name Holman
The Houston Daily Post 1899-01-18
Newspaper page from The Houston Daily Post carrying the name Holman
The Houston Daily Post 1899-01-25
Newspaper page from The Houston Daily Post carrying the name Holman
The Houston Daily Post 1898-11-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Holman in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

186,339 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Holman. The most, 112,715, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 109,648
Western Australia 22,675
Victoria 17,681
Queensland 17,040
South Australia 12,959
Tasmania 5,926
ACT (Canberra) 256
Northern Territory 66

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

Who carried it

People named Holman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edna B. Holman d. 1928 · writer
  • William Holman d. 1501 · politician
  • Gerald Rudall Holman d. 1969
  • Mary Esmé Sinclair d. 1949
  • Thomas Edward Holman d. 1942
  • Philippa Joyce Holman d. 2002

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Holman,
in the records of 10 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 States2,450 records

2,450 records of the Holman name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,051
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 522
  • Other U.S. records 877
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Jerome Holman

    Born 1947; from Astoria, Oregon. U.S. Army, utility/observation helicopter pilot; killed in action 1969 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam. Buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Walter L. Holman

    Born 1920 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Sill; filling station attendant from Tulsa County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1981, buried at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Oklahoma.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Geo Holman

    Arrived at New York in 1836 aboard the Pomona from London, aged 40; carpenter. From Margate Kint, England; bound for Albany.

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

Showing 3 of 2,450 records for Holman in the United States.

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

Netherlands2,755 records

2,755 records of the Holman name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1,811
  • Dutch population registers 791
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 153
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Gerardus Bernardus Holman

    Married in 1935 in 's-Gravenhage; baker. Died 1961 in Winschoten, aged 56.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Leentje Holman

    Married in 1891 in Leeuwarden; domestic servant. Died 1936 in Leeuwarden, aged 83.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Albert Holman

    Married in 1816 in Amsterdam; bricklayer. Died 1831 in Sloten, aged 40.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,755 records for Holman in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia871 records

871 records of the Holman name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 483
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 139
  • Other Australian records 249
  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 Levi Holman

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Moffatt, sailing from Portsmouth in 1842. Native of Mattishall, Norfolk. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Angle Holman

    Born 1842 in Hobart, Tasmania. Died 1914 in Tasmania, aged 73.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Samuel Holman

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838. Married 1838 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 871 records for Holman in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada234 records

234 records of the Holman name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 177
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 21
  • Other Canadian records 36
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Luke Holman

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Peruvian, landing at Quebec, bound for Aurora, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Rosa Linda Holman

    Buried in 1986 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 85.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Varwel Holman

    Died 1951 in Elderbank, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 234 records for Holman in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom36 records

36 records of the Holman name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 30
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  • Other British records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Holman

    Buried in 1876 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 57.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Fredrick Heber Holman

    Will proved in 1932; of Rhyl, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes Holman

    Buried in 1801 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 48.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 36 records for Holman in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand8 records

8 records of the Holman name in New Zealand
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 5
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elsie Lea Holman

    Died 1945, aged 52; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Charles Holman

    Buried in 1907 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 22.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 8 records for Holman in New Zealand.

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France5 records

5 records of the Holman name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie-Elisabeth Holman

    Born 1954 in Le Mans; died 1993 in Le Mans (Sarthe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record William Roland Holman

    Born 1925 in Nogent-le-Rotrou (Eure-et-Loir); died 1995 in Le Mans (Sarthe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Holman in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Norway4 records

4 records of the Holman name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Elias Holman

    Census of 1910: Aarstad gate, Egersund; fisherman, born 1834 in Egersunds Landsogn.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 1 of 4 records for Holman in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Belgium3 records

3 records of the Holman name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Petronelle Holman

    Died 1808 in Ninove.

    Open Archives, Erfgoedcel Denderland (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Holman in Belgium.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Finland1 record

1 record of the Holman name in Finland Finland's war dead, 1914–1922
  1. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Kustaa Vihtori Holman

    Born 1889 in Kullaa; labourer. Died in 1918, one of the dead of Finland's wars of 1914–1922.

    Kansallisarkisto, via Sotasurmasampo (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Kansallisarkisto, via Sotasurmasampo (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Holman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Holman 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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