Hollis
Meaning
surname meaning 'dweller by the holly trees'
The story
Hollis first described a person living near holly trees. The English surname grew from Middle English holis, and the evergreen plant still gives the name its quiet landscape. A very different association comes from Hollis, Queens. In the early years of hip-hop, Run-DMC formed there and placed the neighborhood's name inside the music's geography. Their records and image traveled worldwide, but Hollis remained more than a backdrop: it was the home named in the story. The English surname and the Queens neighborhood should not be forced into one origin tale. They simply meet in the modern given name, where a stand of holly and a New York block can occupy the same word. Neither association predicts taste, talent, or hometown. Together they make Hollis unusually visual: glossy leaves that stay green through winter, then three voices and a beat carrying a neighborhood far beyond the city map.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Hollis peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
When you meet Hollis
People given the name Hollis in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Hollis deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Hollis truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Hollis fits with your family’s names and surname.
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