Show ContentsHolloway History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Holloway is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived as inhabitants at the hollow-way or holy way. [1]

Holloway 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 Holloway family

The surname Holloway 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 Holloway family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Holloway 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 Holloway History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Holloway Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Holloway has been recorded under many different variations, including Holloway, Hollway, Holoway, Hollaway, Hollywood and others.

Early Notables of the Holloway 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. [2]
  • James Holloway (d. 1684), was an English "conspirator, a citizen of Bristol, probably imbibed strong protestant opinions from the master to whom he was apprenticed, Walter Stephens, a linendraper of B...
  • Sir Richard Holloway (d. 1695?), was an English judge, "son of John Holloway, B.C.L., who was an official to the archdeacon of Berkshire and a 'covetous civilian and public notary' of Oxford. Richard...

Holloway World Ranking

In the United States, the name Holloway is the 450th most popular surname with an estimated 62,175 people with that name. [8] However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Holloway is ranked the 125th most popular surname with an estimated 290 people with that name. [9] And in Australia, the name Holloway is the 755th popular surname with an estimated 5,180 people with that name. [10] New Zealand ranks Holloway as 809th with 901 people. [11] The United Kingdom ranks Holloway as 501st with 12,890 people. [12]

Ireland Migration of the Holloway family to Ireland

Some of the Holloway 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 Holloway migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Holloway or a variant listed above:

Holloway Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Eedie Holloway, (Hollaway), aged 22, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance" [13]
  • Peter Holloway, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 [13]
  • Mr. John Holloway, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Elizabeth and Anne" arriving in Massachusetts Bay (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire) in 1635 [14]
  • Miss Elizabeth Holloway, (b. 1609), aged 26, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Safety" arriving in Virginia in 1635 [15]
  • John Holloway, who landed in Virginia in 1636 [13]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Holloway Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Briggs Holloway, who settled in Boston in 1765
  • William Holloway, who settled in Maryland in 1775
  • James Holloway, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 [13]
Holloway Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Daniel Holloway, who landed in Texas in 1835 [13]
  • Henry Holloway, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1896 [13]
Holloway Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Philip Holloway, who landed in New York in 1910 [13]

Canada Holloway migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Holloway Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Mary Holloway, aged 60 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Gilmour" departing 24th April 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 18th June 1847 but she died on board [16]
  • Mr. Michael Holloway, aged 18 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Flora Hastings" departing 11th May 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 26th June 1847 but he died on board [16]

Australia Holloway migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Holloway Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Miss Ann Holloway, English convict who was convicted in Southampton, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bellona" in July 1792, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [17]
Holloway Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Elizabeth Holloway, (b. 1790), aged 22, English servant who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Emu" in October 1812, the ship was captured and the passengers put ashore, the convicts were then transported aboard the "Broxburnebury" in January 1812 arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1848 [18]
  • Miss Ann Holloway, (b. 1779), aged 34, Irish country servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Catherine" on 8th December 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [19]
  • Mr. Adam Holloway, British Convict who was convicted in Berkshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1830 [20]
  • John Holloway, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia [21]
  • Mr. George Holloway, (Godden), British Convict who was convicted in Southampton, Hampshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [22]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Holloway 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:

Holloway Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Holloway, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "William Watson" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th February 1859 [23]
  • Miss Catherine Holloway, (b. 1861), aged 7 weeks, British settler travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 10th February 1862 [24]
  • Mr. Henry Edward Holloway, (b. 1822), aged 39, British labourer travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 10th February 1862 [24]
  • Mrs. Ellen Holloway, (b. 1831), aged 30, British settler travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 10th February 1862 [24]
  • Mr. John Joseph Holloway, (b. 1856), aged 5, British settler travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 10th February 1862 [24]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Holloway migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [25]
Holloway Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Edmond Holloway, (b. 1618), aged 17, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Anne and Elizabeth" arriving in Barbados in 1635 [26]

Contemporary Notables of the name Holloway (post 1700) +

  • James Lemuel Holloway III (1922-2019), United States Navy admiral and naval aviator who was decorated for his actions during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War
  • A.J. Holloway (d. 2018), American politician, Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi from 1993 to 2015
  • Clyde Cecil Holloway (1943-2016), American politician, small business owner, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner (2009-2016)
  • William Judson Holloway Jr. (1923-2014), American jurist, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (1984-1991)
  • James W. "Red" Holloway (b. 1927), American jazz tenor saxophonist
  • Ralph Holloway (b. 1935), American physical anthropologist
  • Josh Holloway (b. 1969), American television and film actor
  • Brenda Holloway (b. 1946), American singer and songwriter
  • Admiral James Lemuel Holloway Jr. (1898-1984), Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy from 1947 to 1950; Chief of Naval personnel from 1953 to 1957; commander in chief of all United States naval forces in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 1957 to 1959
  • Bruce K. Holloway, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 13 aerial victories
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Air New Zealand Flight 901
  • Mrs. Jean Marie Holloway (1916-1979), British passenger, currently residing in Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; she died in the crash [27]
Empress of Ireland
  • Mrs. Charlotte Holloway (1857-1914), née Oliver Canadian First Class Passenger from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking [28]
HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Donald Mitchell Holloway, British Telegraphist, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking [29]
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Sidney Holloway (d. 1912), aged 20, English Clothes Presser from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking and was recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett [30]
SS Newfoundland
  • Mr. Philip Holloway (d. 1914), Newfoundlander from Newport, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he died during this time


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  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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  9. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  10. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  11. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  12. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  13. 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)
  14. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 24th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  15. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 5th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  16. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 80)
  17. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bellona
  18. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Emu
  19. Convict Records of Australia (Retreived 2nd January 2021, retreived from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/catherine
  20. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
  21. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
  22. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  23. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  24. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  26. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 23rd September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  27. Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx
  28. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  29. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  30. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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