Given name & surname
Holger
“island”·“spear”
Holger is a masculine given name from Old Danish, ultimately from Old Norse. It is used in German, Swedish, and Danish.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Holger is built from elements meaning “island” and “spear”.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
Its Old Norse formation brings together hólmr (“island”) and geirr (“spear”).
The story
The name’s historical associations include a character of medieval romance, one of Charlemagne’s generals, known in English as Ogier the Dane.
Holger through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 244
- 244 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1916
- 16 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2002. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 16 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 886 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Holger’s family of names
Holger has an affectionate form in Hogge. In German usage, Holger has a related form in Holli. In Norwegian usage, Holger has a related form in OLGER.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Holger has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
8 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hollivariant · German
- Hollevariant · German
- Olgervariant · Norwegian
- Olginevariant · Norwegian
- Ogiervariant · German, French
- Holgivariant · German
- Holdgervariant · German
- Hogervariant · German
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Holger
- Holger BadstuberGerman association football player (born 1989)
- Holger RuneDanish tennis player (born 2003)
- Holger OsieckGerman association football player and managerborn 1948
- Holger PedersenDanish linguist (1867-1953)
- Holger DrachmannPoet and painter (1846-1908)
- Holger NielsenDanish sportsman (1866–1955)
- Rosa von PraunheimGerman film director (1942–2025)
- Holger HieronymusGerman footballerborn 1959
- Holger MeinsGerman revolutionary (1941-1974)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Holger, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Other
Other is a masculine given name from Old Norse.
>99% boys
Helge
“a holy woman; one who is successful” · “one who is productive and happy”
>99% boys
Hilding
“ruler, war chief”
>99% boys
Alver
“wholly, entirely” · “weather”
96% boys · 4% girls
Hjalmar
“one who wears an army helmet”
>99% boys
Haldor
“of the thunderous rock”
>99% boys
Olaf
“the last of the ancestors”
>99% boys
Thorvald
“follower of Thor”
>99% boys