Show ContentsHollaway History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The origins of the Hollaway name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Hollaway was originally derived from a family having lived as inhabitants at the hollow-way or holy way. 1

Hollaway is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names.

John Halifax or Holywood (Latin: Johannes de Sacro Bosco) (fl. 1230), was an early English mathematician, probably born at Halifax in Yorkshire. "Holywood is said to have studied at Oxford, and to have afterwards settled at Paris about 1230. The remainder of his life was spent in Paris, where he died, either in 1244 or 1256." 2

Early Origins of the Hollaway family

The surname Hollaway was first found in Middlesex at Holloway, a district in the parish of Islington, Finsbury division of the hundred of Ossulstone. 3

Today, it is part of Greater London. There are a few different possible origins of the place name but the generally accepted origin is from the Old English words "hol" + "weg" which evolved to mean "the road with a hollow." 4 One of the first listings of the district was in 1307, when it was listed as Le Holeweye.

Richard de Holeweia was found in the Pipe Rolls for Devon in 1130 and later Hohn de la Holewete was found in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1275. John Holewey was in the Hundredorum Rolls for Oxford in 1279 and John del Hollewaye was in Yorkshire in 1308. A few years later, Hugh atte Holewey was listed in Devon in 1310. 5

There were two listings for the family in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Johannes de Holeweye, Wiltshire; and William de Holeweye, Warwickshire. 6

In Somerset, William Holeweye was there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign). 7

Early History of the Hollaway family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hollaway research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1562, 1581, 1582, 1599, 1604, 1616, 1666, 1684, 1691, 1695, 1720, 1722, 1723, 1734, 1759 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hollaway History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hollaway Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Hollaway include Holloway, Hollway, Holoway, Hollaway, Hollywood and others.

Early Notables of the Hollaway family

Notables of this surname at this time include: James Holloway (died 1684), an English merchant from Bristol, and conspirator of the Rye House Plot.John Holloway (c. 1666-1734), was a politician and lawyer in the British colony of Virginia, Speaker of the House of Burgesses (1720-1734) and first Mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia (1722-1723.)Benjamin Holloway (1691?-1759), was an English divine, born at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, about 1691, was the son of Joseph Holloway, 'brasiator' (maltster), of that town. 2James Holloway (d. 1684), was an English "conspirator, a citizen of Bristol, probably imbibed strong protestant opinions from the master to whom he was apprenticed...
Another 152 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hollaway Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hollaway Ranking

In the United States, the name Hollaway is the 10,346th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 8

Ireland Migration of the Hollaway family to Ireland

Some of the Hollaway family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 193 words (14 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Hollaway migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Hollaway Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Eedie Hollaway, (Holloway), aged 22, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance" 9
  • Rob Hollaway, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 10
  • Robert Hollaway, who landed in Virginia in 1658 10
  • Prescilla Hollaway, who landed in Virginia in 1658 10

New Zealand Hollaway migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Hollaway Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Frederick Hollaway, aged 22, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857

Contemporary Notables of the name Hollaway (post 1700) +

  • Benjamin F. Hollaway, American politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives 9th District, 1974, 1976, 1978 11


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  7. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  8. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  9. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  10. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  11. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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