NameCensus.

UK surname

Holtham

A locational surname denoting someone from a hamlet or homestead.

In the 1881 census there were 406 people recorded with the Holtham surname, ranking it #7,880 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 433, ranked #11,120, down from #7,880 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Gateshead and St John Hackney. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Tewkesbury, Newport and North Warwickshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Holtham is 665 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 6.7%.

1881 census count

406

Ranked #7,880

Modern count

433

2016, ranked #11,120

Peak year

1911

665 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Holtham had 406 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,880 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 433 in 2016, ranked #11,120.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 665 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Holtham surname distribution map

The map shows where the Holtham surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Holtham surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Holtham over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 327 #7,119
1861 historical 293 #8,589
1881 historical 406 #7,880
1891 historical 447 #8,115
1901 historical 552 #7,515
1911 historical 665 #6,323
1997 modern 475 #9,676
1998 modern 512 #9,414
1999 modern 499 #9,674
2000 modern 510 #9,485
2001 modern 503 #9,428
2002 modern 517 #9,418
2003 modern 489 #9,646
2004 modern 481 #9,779
2005 modern 456 #10,111
2006 modern 434 #10,543
2007 modern 439 #10,553
2008 modern 438 #10,668
2009 modern 450 #10,669
2010 modern 464 #10,633
2011 modern 445 #10,880
2012 modern 428 #11,092
2013 modern 444 #10,946
2014 modern 440 #11,107
2015 modern 439 #11,035
2016 modern 433 #11,120

Geography

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Where Holthams are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Gateshead, St John Hackney, Beckenham and Cheltenham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Tewkesbury, Newport, North Warwickshire, Milton Keynes and South Somerset. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 3
2 Gateshead Durham
3 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
4 Beckenham Kent
5 Cheltenham Gloucestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Tewkesbury 001 Tewkesbury
2 Newport 015 Newport
3 North Warwickshire 003 North Warwickshire
4 Milton Keynes 010 Milton Keynes
5 South Somerset 003 South Somerset

Forenames

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First names often paired with Holtham

These lists show first names that appear often with the Holtham surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Holtham

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Holtham, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Holtham surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Holtham household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Holtham is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Holtham is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Holtham falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Holtham is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Holtham, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Holtham

The surname Holtham is of English origin, and it is believed to have originated in the medieval period. It is a locational surname, derived from the place name Holton, which means "holly town" or "holly settlement." The name was likely first adopted by people who hailed from the village of Holton in various parts of England.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Holtham can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Holt" and "Holtun." This suggests that the name has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and it was likely influenced by the Old English words "hol" (hollow) and "tun" (town or settlement).

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Holtham was John de Holtham, who lived in the 13th century and was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1268. Another notable bearer of the name was William de Holtham, who was a landowner in Holton, Oxfordshire, in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the name was recorded with various spellings, such as Holteham, Holtam, and Holtom, reflecting the inconsistencies in spelling during that era. One notable figure from this period was Thomas Holtham, a merchant and alderman in the city of York, who lived between 1530 and 1596.

During the 17th century, the surname Holtham became more widespread, and it was found in various parts of England. One notable individual was John Holtham, a Member of Parliament for the borough of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, who lived from 1623 to 1689.

In the 18th century, the name continued to be well-established in England, with individuals such as William Holtham (1702-1776), a wealthy landowner and farmer in Yorkshire, and Mary Holtham (1748-1818), a renowned poet and author from Lincolnshire.

The 19th century saw the surname Holtham spread to other parts of the English-speaking world, including North America and Australia, as a result of immigration. One notable figure from this period was James Holtham (1819-1892), a successful businessman and philanthropist who emigrated from England to Canada in the mid-19th century.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Holtham families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Holtham surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Gloucestershire leads with 122 Holthams recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.71x.

County Total Index
Gloucestershire 122 15.71x
Warwickshire 75 7.51x
Middlesex 31 0.78x
Lancashire 19 0.40x
Kent 18 1.33x
Worcestershire 18 3.48x
Glamorgan 17 2.47x
Surrey 15 0.78x
Oxfordshire 12 4.91x
Cheshire 9 1.03x
Staffordshire 9 0.67x
Somerset 8 1.26x
Buckinghamshire 7 2.92x
Yorkshire 7 0.18x
Herefordshire 6 3.69x
Wiltshire 6 1.71x
Leicestershire 5 1.14x
Bedfordshire 4 1.95x
Hampshire 4 0.49x
Cambridgeshire 3 1.20x
Derbyshire 3 0.48x
Hertfordshire 2 0.73x
Sussex 2 0.30x
Berkshire 1 0.34x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.60x
Durham 1 0.08x
Northamptonshire 1 0.27x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Cheltenham in Gloucestershire leads with 60 Holthams recorded in 1881 and an index of 100.13x.

Place Total Index
Cheltenham 60 100.13x
Birmingham 17 5.11x
Moreton Morrell 16 4571.43x
Beckenham 14 79.28x
Hackney London 11 4.95x
Ynysawdre 10 900.90x
Aston 9 3.27x
Leek Lowe 9 50.59x
Macclesfield 9 23.16x
Prestbury 9 468.75x
Kirkdale 8 10.12x
Penge 8 31.62x
Radford Semele 8 1052.63x
Stratton 8 851.06x
Baddesley Ensor 7 546.88x
Bishops Itchington 7 729.17x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 7 9.57x
Chipping Norton 7 123.89x
Dowdeswell 7 1029.41x
Gloucester St Michael 7 393.26x
Handsworth 7 67.50x
Roath 7 22.35x
Stoke Newington London 6 19.45x
Acton 5 21.53x
Lower Swell 5 909.09x
Lyncombe Widcombe 5 29.96x
St Luke London 5 7.87x
Swanbourne 5 769.23x
Banbury 4 81.63x
Bermondsey 4 3.39x
Gloucester Kingsholm St 4 137.93x
Honington 4 1290.32x
Oadby 4 170.21x
Oaksey 4 689.66x
Redditch 4 38.13x
Upton On Severn 4 117.99x
Wotton St Mary 4 99.26x
Cirencester 3 28.52x
Everton 3 2.00x
Hallow 3 118.58x
Houghton Regis 3 91.74x
Islington London 3 0.78x
Little Bolton 3 4.97x
Shrewley 3 600.00x
Worcester St Martin 3 42.98x
Blackburn 2 1.60x
Derby St Alkmund 2 10.76x
Erith 2 15.03x
Felton 2 1428.57x
Hindlip 2 555.56x
Lambeth 2 0.58x
Ledbury 2 35.84x
Leigh 2 31.85x
Parson Drove 2 200.00x
Portsea 2 1.26x
Tanworth 2 75.76x
Temple Guiting 2 277.78x
Twerton 2 30.44x
Winchcomb 2 51.95x
Aldenham 1 40.32x
Bath St James 1 15.04x
Brighton 1 0.74x
Bristol 1 136.99x
Charlbury 1 36.36x
Christchurch 1 5.68x
Dunstable 1 15.87x
Eton 1 18.42x
Gloucester St Nicholas 1 27.78x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 1 1.96x
Linton In Newent 1 79.37x
Llandilo Fawr 1 13.44x
Naunton 1 138.89x
Northampton St Giles 1 7.05x
Oversley 1 217.39x
Preston 1 8.58x
Sutton Courtney 1 81.30x
Swindon 1 3.68x
Warminster 1 13.04x
West Derby 1 0.73x
Winslow 1 178.57x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Holtham surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 29
Elizabeth 17
Sarah 12
Annie 10
Emily 10
Jane 9
Ann 8
Ellen 8
Louisa 7
Eliza 6
Florence 6
Catherine 5
Agnes 4
Alice 4
Caroline 4
Emma 4
Hannah 4
Lucy 4
Fanny 3
Martha 3
Ada 2
Anne 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Esther 2
Jessie 2
Kate 2
Margaret 2
Maud 2
May 2
Susan 2
Beatrice 1
C.M. 1
Eleanor 1
Ethel 1
Flora 1
Harriett 1
Infant 1
Kezia 1
Lillie 1
Lizzie 1
M.E. 1
Margaretton 1
Maria 1
Marianne 1
Nelly 1
Rebecca 1
Rosetta 1
Rosina 1
Violet 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Holtham surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 31
John 21
Thomas 20
George 13
Joseph 12
Albert 9
Henry 8
Arthur 7
Charles 7
Edward 7
Frederick 7
James 6
Benjamin 5
Edwin 4
Harry 4
Alfred 3
Augustus 3
Ernest 3
Fredk. 3
Fred 2
Richard 2
Robert 2
Walter 2
Abert 1
Barry 1
Clement 1
Daniel 1
Francis 1
G. 1
Gilbert 1
Harvey 1
I.H. 1
Isaac 1
Jesse 1
Joe 1
Mark 1
Percy 1
Richd. 1
S.H. 1
Sidney 1
Sydney 1
T.A. 1
Tom 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Holtham surname: questions and answers

How common was the Holtham surname in 1881?

In 1881, 406 people were recorded with the Holtham surname. That placed it at #7,880 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Holtham surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 433 in 2016. That gives Holtham a modern rank of #11,120.

What does the Holtham surname mean?

A locational surname denoting someone from a hamlet or homestead.

What does the Holtham map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Holtham bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.