Holly
Usually a locational surname for someone who lived by holly trees, hedges, or a holly grove.
The #3,979 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,558 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from the Old English word for the holly tree, recorded in Middle English as holly. It would originally have described someone living near a place marked by holly bushes or holly woodland, or in a district with that name. In some cases it may also reflect a house or holding identified by a holly tree or hedge.
History
The name appears in English records in several place-based forms and was later fixed as a hereditary surname. Bardsley and Lower both treat related forms as local surnames referring to residence by holly growth or a holly meadow. The modern surname can also be influenced by spelling variation from related names such as Hollis.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Medieval and early-modern English surnames often used trees and landscape features as address labels, so a surname like Holly could originally have been as literal as "the person by the holly trees."
From the historical record
“(Celt.) Bel. to Roslin (Edinb.), 13th cent. Roskelyn=t'iie Holly- Wood Moor [Cym. rQi)os, a moor -f- celyn, a holly-wood] ROSLING = Roslin (q.v.), with added E. -g.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)