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Holley

#3,736 in 2025Girls' name

Possibly hollow

Holley has been given to 4,690 babies in the U.S. since 1937. In 2025 it ranked #3,736 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1984, with 108 recorded.

Babies named Holley, 2025

1 in 82,900

Holley over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Holley: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly hollow

English

What Holley means

Holley may mean “hollow”, associated with hol.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Holly. * Also as an English surname, from Old English hol (“hollow”) leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”) or Old English hol ēage (“eye”), perhaps a nickname for someone with a missing eye. * Also as an English surname, singular variant of Hollis.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Holley (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Holley is used in English. Its origins include English.

Holley comes through Old English hol.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Holly and Hollis.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,486 girls were recorded with the name Holley between 1937 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 108 in 1984; its best national rank was #1,110 in 1974.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,305 in 2020 to #3,736 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,317 in 2015 to #3,736 in 2025.

In the United States, 204 boys were recorded with the name Holley between 1911 and 1974. Its highest annual count was 12 in 1923; its best national rank was #1,863 in 1911.

How common is Holley?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 82,900
40 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 40,200
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#3,736
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
57,449 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Holley sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 57,449 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Holley. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Holleys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Holley was born before 1987 — so the typical Holley is around 38 today.

Median birth year
1987
About 38 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
20.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
27.0%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
4,408
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 20.6% of all recorded uses (922).

Is Holley rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+585
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−431
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−419
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.82×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
37.0%
Peak was 1984 (108)
Years since peak
41
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
15.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,110
1974

Spellings of Holley

Holley is not the most common spelling — Holly is, with 18.5% against Holley's 0.40%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Holley is used

Across 1910–2025, Holley was most concentrated in Alabama — about 1 in 16,667 girls, against 1 in 81,442 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

06 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Alabama1 in 16,667
  2. 2Texas1 in 25,000
  3. 3Florida1 in 33,333
  4. 4Tennessee1 in 33,333
  5. 5Georgia1 in 50,000
  6. 6California1 in 100,000
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 100,000
  8. 8Mississippi1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Holley has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Holley around the world

Where Holley ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2019
    #5,591
    in 2019
  • Canada
    1995–2024
    #3,457
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1982–2013
    #536
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Holley by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,736
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 431
Best rank ever
#1,110
1974
Peak year
1984
108 that year
First recorded
1937
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,486
Count in 2025
40

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#1,863
1911
Peak year
1923
12 that year
First recorded
1911
Last recorded
1974
All-time count
204
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Holley

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

HollisHollynHollandHalleyCaileyHollieHolliEnsleyTinleyWesleyBexleyBrileyKeeleyHenleyTenleyKenleyRipleyKarleyEisleyKayleyBayleyTinsleyEmileyHaisley

Names with a curve like Holley

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Holley, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

RachellMirnaRanaTamarEliciaAdriaJacintaJoiJaymieSusannahAprylRosalba

Sibling names for Holley

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Holley

Top names of 1984, Holley's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1974Girls' names starting with H