Holston
A masculine name of English origin meaning "hollow by the stone".
Name Census estimates that about 262 living Americans carry the first name Holston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Holston today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Holston births was 2023 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Holston. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
262
~ 1 in 1,308,223 Americans
Peak year
2023
40 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,910
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Holston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Holston from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 154 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Holston by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Holston during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Holstons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Holston, while South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Holston
The name Holston is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain (5th to 11th centuries). The name is thought to be derived from a combination of two Old English words: "hol" meaning "hollow" or "valley," and "stan" meaning "stone" or "rock." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a rocky or stony valley or hollow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Holston can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions a person named "Holstan" who held land in the county of Lincolnshire.
In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk named Holston is mentioned in the chronicles of the monastery at St. Albans. He is noted for his exceptional skill in calligraphy and manuscript illumination, contributing to the creation of several beautifully illustrated manuscripts during his lifetime.
During the 13th century, a knight named Sir Holston de Warwick fought alongside King Edward I in various military campaigns, including the Welsh Wars and the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. He is recorded as having been awarded lands in Warwickshire for his service to the crown.
In the 15th century, a respected scholar and philosopher named Holston Bradbury made significant contributions to the field of metaphysics. His work, "De Natura Rerum" (On the Nature of Things), was widely studied and discussed in academic circles of the time.
Another notable figure with the name Holston was an English explorer and navigator named Holston Smythe, who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expeditions to the Americas in the late 16th century. Smythe's detailed accounts of the voyages and the lands they encountered provided valuable insights into the early exploration of the New World.
People
Holston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Holston as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Holston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Holston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 262 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Holston going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,308,223 US residents.
Is Holston a common name?
We classify Holston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 264 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Holston most popular?
The single biggest year for Holston was 2023, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Holston is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Holston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Holston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Holston in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Holston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Holston in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Holston can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Holston?
You can see how many people share the name Holston on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.