What kind of last name is Holley(ethnicity)?

Question:

What kind of last name is Holley(ethnicity)?

I was thinking scottish or french, though I really have no idea.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Origin Displayed: English

Where did the English Holley family come from? What is the English coat of arms/family crest? When did the Holley family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

The Holley family has descended through the lines of the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived near a prominent group of holly shrubs. The surname Holley is derived from the Old English words holi, holie, and holin, which in turn come from the Old English words holegn and holen, which mean holly. The surname Holley belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.

Flemish surnames are characterized by a large number of spelling variations. One reason for this is that medieval English lacked definite spelling rules. The spellings of surnames were also influenced by the official court languages, which were French and Latin. Names were rarely spelled consistently in medieval times, when most people were illiterate. Scribes and church officals recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to specific spelling rules, and people often had their names registered in several different forms throughout their lives. One of the greatest reasons for change is the linguistic uniqueness of the Flemish settlers in England, who spoke a language closely related to Dutch. The pronounciation and spelling of Flemish names were often altered to suit the tastes of English-speaking people. In many cases, the first, final, or middle syllables of surnames were eliminated. The name has been spelled Holly, Holley, Hollie and others.

First found in Norfolk where they were seated from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Holley were John Holly settled in Virginia in 1650; along with Tyonll in Virginia in 1665; Elizabeth Holly settled in New England in 1635; Lionel Holley settled in Virginia in 1642.

Some noteworthy people of the name Holley

* Charles Hardin "Buddy" Holley, American singer, songwriter, and considered one of the most influential founding fathers of rock 'n roll

Surname: Holley
Recorded in several spellings including Hollies, Hollis, Holley, Holly, Hollins, Holling, Hollings, Hollen, Hollens and possibly others, this is a pre 7th century Northern English, occasionally Scottish, and probably with a Norse-Viking association. It is both locational from any of the places called Hollin, Hollins, or Holly, or it can be topographical, and describe a person who lived by a holegn, a 'hollow eye', - a group of holly trees - in a hollow. The Old Norse word 'holmr' meaning an inland island, one on a lake or river, is closely related, and certainly responsible for some of the modern spellings. There are about 40 places in the British Isles with the prefix Hollin(s)- and over sixty prefixed Holly-, eleven of them being Hollywoods. Locational surnames were amongst the earliest created, being either the name of the owner of the local estate, village or in some cases town, or more usually from the 15th century onwards, the result of a person leaving his or sometimes her, original home, and being named after it, as an easy form of identification. Spelling being at best erratic, and local dialects very thick, lead to the development of 'sounds like' forms. Even high flyers found difficulty with their name spelling, Sir William Holleys or Holles, was lord mayor of London in 1539, during the reign of King Henry V111th (1510 -1547). Some of the earliest recordings include John (de) Holley in the Subsidy Tax Rolls of the county of Cumberland in 1332, and Alicia de Holyns in the poll tax rolls of the county of Yorkshire in 1379.

Holley
English (chiefly Yorkshire): topographic name from Middle English holin, holi(e) ??holly tree??.