Holeway History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Holeway is an old Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived as inhabitants at the hollow-way or holy way. 1

Holeway 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 Holeway family

The surname Holeway 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 Holeway family

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

Holeway Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Holeway were recorded, including Holloway, Hollway, Holoway, Hollaway, Hollywood and others.

Early Notables of the Holeway 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...
Another 152 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Holeway Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Holeway family to Ireland

Some of the Holeway 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.

Migration of the Holeway family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Holeway family emigrate to North America: Dorothy Hollway settled in Barbados in 1663 with William, her husband; William Holloway settled in Maryland in 1775; Eadie Holloway settled with Elizabeth and Joe in Virginia in 1635.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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.