Holman is an English and Dutch surname first recorded in Essex, England in the subsidy rolls of 1327. There are variants including Hollman and Holeman. It is uncommon as a given name.[1]

Holman
Origin
Meaning"holy man", "dweller in a hollow", "dweller by holly", "dweller on an island"
Region of originEngland, Netherlands
Other names
Variant form(s)Hollman, Holeman

There a three main theories as to the meaning of the name, one occupational and two topographical:[2][3]

  • "Holy man" – stemming from the Old English words Hol or Hool, meaning holy.
  • "Dweller in a hollow (hole)" – stemming from the Old English hohl, meaning hollow or hole.
  • "Dweller by a holly tree/Dweller on an island" – from Middle English holm, meaning holly or island.

Notable Holmans edit

People with the surname or its variants include:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Reaney P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991
  2. ^ Colleta, John P. They Came in Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993.'
  3. ^ Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, 2013