Given name & surname
Holmes
“from the river island”
Holmes is used as a given name, a surname, and a nickname. One English interpretation is “from the river island.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the river island.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Holmes through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 610
- 610 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 24 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 6 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 24 in 1915. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 428 as a first name in 2020; 150,877 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Holmes’s family of names
Holmes has a related form in Holm. Holmes has a related form in Holme. Holmes has a related form in Holmmes.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hulmsvariant
- Hulmevariant
- Hulmvariant
- Hulmmesvariant
- Hulmesvariant
- Holmsvariant
- Holmevariant · English
- Holmvariant
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People named Holmes
- Sterling MorrisonAmerican musician (1942–1995)
- Holmes HerbertBritish actor (1882–1956)
- Holmes OsborneAmerican actorborn 1947
- Holmes Rolston IIIAmerican philosopher1932–2025
- Holmes ConradConfederate Army officer and American lawyer and politician (1840–1915)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Holmes, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Harwood
“from the hare's forest”
>99% boys
Boswell
“from the spring near the forest”
>99% boys
Mansfield
“from the field near the small river”
>99% boys
Morley
“woman from the moor” · “from the meadow on the moor”
92% boys · 8% girls
Glade
“from the meadow in the C woods” · “from the clearing in the woods”
>99% boys
Sherwood
“from the bright forest”
>99% boys
Hockley
“from the high meadow”
>99% boys
Horsley
“from the horse meadow”
>99% boys