Holms Surname

385,006th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 923 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Guam

Holms Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the holm,' from residence upon a holm, an islet in, or a flat land beside, a river. The word as a place name is common all over England. In my old parish (Ulverston, North Lancashire) is an Appletree-holm in the river Crake.

Read More About This Surname

Holms Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4871:744,26958,228
Scotland1161:46,1544,115
England671:831,61344,286
Canada621:594,28449,093
Latvia291:70,69110,433
Finland241:229,02918,579
Sweden201:492,33835,486
New Zealand191:238,33322,631
Nigeria151:11,809,517219,567
South Africa101:5,417,770150,016
Australia91:2,999,522116,751
Guam81:20,0153,029
Nicaragua81:752,6364,372
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
Argentina61:7,123,902190,047
Panama51:782,45211,059
Germany41:20,126,365436,245
Algeria31:12,877,18484,902
China21:683,660,78330,601
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Egypt11:91,935,754132,737
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
France11:66,422,722504,397
Gibraltar11:33,9541,660
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Guyana11:762,22114,420
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Mauritius11:1,293,41716,552
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland211:210,9469,809
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England4791:50,8886,180
Scotland3671:10,1991,296
Wales41:392,10412,338
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,3331:21,5252,715

The alternate forms: Hölms (1) are calculated separately.

Holms (22) may also be a first name.

Holms Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the holm,' from residence upon a holm, an islet in, or a flat land beside, a river. The word as a place name is common all over England. In my old parish (Ulverston, North Lancashire) is an Appletree-holm in the river Crake. 'Holm, place besydone a water; hulmus': Promptorium Parvulorum The word is sometimes found spelt home or holms. 'Homes, probably holms, which signified originally river-islands' (Kennett).

Goscelin de Holme, Suffolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John in le Holmp (sic), Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Robert del Holm, Yorkshire, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Thomas del Holme, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Adam del Holme, 1379: ibid.

Johannes del Holme, 1379: ibid.

Adam atte Home, Close Rolls, 14 Edward III. pt.

1574. Robert Cooke and Johanna Homes, of Isleworth: Marriage Lic. (London).

1615. Baptised — Alice, d. Thomas Holmes: St. James, Clerkenwell.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Johannes Holmys, capellanus, witness in Ayr, 1460 (Ayr, p. 35), doubtless derived his name from the lands of Holmes near Dundonald in Kyle Stewart. There were also lands named Holmes in the barony of Inchestuir. James Hoomes in 1668 to find caution that he will not harm any of the inhabitants of Inverness (Rec. lnv., II, p. 233).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Pl., and genit., of Holm(e q.v.

One of the two (or more) Lancashire places called Holmes is Holmes in A.D. 1212 and Le Holmes in A.D. 1283.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

A holme is defined by Halliwell as ' flat land; a small island; a deposit of soil at the confluence of two waters. Flat grounds near water are called holms.'

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Holmes. —Widely distributed over England, but rare in the south, especially in the south - west. The northern half of England evidently possesses its home, or rather its homes; in the counties of Durham and Derby, in the West Riding, and in Lincolnshire, occur the greatest numbers of the name.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Holms Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Holms Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Holms is found most in The United States. It may also be found as a variant: Hölms. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Holms? popularity and diffusion

The surname Holms is the 385,006th most widespread surname on a worldwide basis, held by approximately 1 in 7,895,499 people. It occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 63 percent of Holms live; 59 percent live in North America and 59 percent live in Anglo-North America. It is also the 2,301,746th most widespread given name throughout the world, held by 22 people.

This surname is most frequently used in The United States, where it is borne by 487 people, or 1 in 744,269. In The United States it is primarily concentrated in: California, where 15 percent are found, Texas, where 13 percent are found and Washington, where 10 percent are found. Not including The United States Holms exists in 40 countries. It is also common in Scotland, where 13 percent are found and England, where 7 percent are found.

Holms Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Holms has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Holms surname decreased 79 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it decreased 68 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in England it decreased 86 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Holms Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the Holms last name is principally Catholic (48%) in Ireland.

In The United States Holms are 21.36% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 68.13% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Holms earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 64.98% more than the national average, earning R 392,052 per year; in United States they earn 23.92% less than the national average, earning $32,827 USD per year and in Canada they earn 14.7% more than the national average, earning $56,985 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Hölms931/
Holmås91164/
Kholms917/
Holmse916/
Cholms911/
Holmsz911/
Holmst911/
Holmss911/
Holmsh911/
Houlms910/
Hollms910/
Olms89518/
Helms8051,546/
Ohlms80445/
Golms8065/
Olmås8049/
Halms8044/
Hulms802/
Oulms801/
Ojlms801/
Jolms800/
Hellms7353/
Ahlmås734/
Kholmz732/
Halmsh731/
Halmse731/
Helmss731/
Hallms730/
Chalms730/
Elms678,714/
Alms671,536/
Ulms6788/

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Holms
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis