Show ContentsHollan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Hollan has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in Hallam, a place name found in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. In the Domesday Book of 1086, this place is called Hallum. 1 In Yorkshire, Hallam is found in the South Riding.

Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old Scandinavian word hallr, or from the Old English word hall, both of which meant "stony." The place name meant "the stony place, the place at the rocks." 2

In Derbyshire there is a place called West Hallam and another called Kirk Hallam. These names are derived from the Old English word halh, which meant "remote nook of land." Kirk in the Old English meat "church;" the name as a whole would be "church in a remote place," while West Hallam was a "remote place in the west." 3

Early Origins of the Hollan family

The surname Hollan was first found in Yorkshire at Hallam or perhaps at Halling, a village on the North Downs in the northern part of Kent that dates back to Saxon times in the 8th century when it was first listed as Hallingas. 3

By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name was known as Hallinges, 1 and literally meant "settlement of the family of a man called Heall, " from the Old English personal name + "ingas." 3

A scan of early rolls revealed Adam de Hallum in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1297 and John de Hallum in Lancashire in 1328. Richard de Halom was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Derbyshire in 1327 and Henry de Halom held lands in Yorkshire in 1392. 4

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus de Hallom and Elena de Hallum. 5

In Scotland, the name was "probably a late introduction from England. Janet Hallam was in the Carse of Twynholm, 1758. John Hallum or Hallume was hanged for being a Covenanter, 1685." 6

Early History of the Hollan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hollan research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1250, 1360, 1370, 1403, 1405, 1417 and 1537 are included under the topic Early Hollan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hollan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Hollan have been found, including Hallam, Halam, Hallum and others.

Early Notables of the Hollan family

Notables of the family at this time include Robert Hallam (d. 1417), an English churchman, Bishop of Salisbury and English representative at the Council of Constance. He was Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1403 to 1405. He was born probably between 1360 and 1370, and educated at Oxford. 7John Hallam (d. 1537), was an English "conspirator, a native of Cawkill, Yorkshire, and had much local influence and popularity. A determined Romanist he strenuously opposed the king's supremacy and the suppression of the monasteries. When the priest announced at Kilnskill that the king had suppressed St. Wilfrid's day, Hallam angrily...
Another 112 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hollan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Hollan migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Hollan, or a variant listed above:

Hollan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Eliza Hollan, aged 35, who arrived in New York, NY in 1849 8
  • Henry Hollan, aged 40, who landed in New York, NY in 1849 8
  • Sarah Hollan, aged 12, who arrived in New York, NY in 1849 8
  • Mr. John Hollan, (b. 1831), aged 23, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "May Flower" arriving in Philadelphia, USA on 7 October 1854 9
  • Mr. James Hollan, (b. 1833), aged 21, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "May Flower" arriving in Maryland, USA on 7 October 1854, he died aboard the ship 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hollan (post 1700) +

  • James D. Hollan, American professor of cognitive science and adjunct professor of computer science at the University of California, San Diego
  • Woodrow W. Hollan, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Kentucky commissioner of agriculture, 1975 10
  • Edith Hollan Jones (b. 1949), American jurist, United States Circuit Judge and the former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  7. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  8. 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)
  9. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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