Origin
Holm : 1: English Scottish German and Scandinavian: topographic name for someone who lived on an island in particular a piece of slightly raised land lying in a fen or partly surrounded by streams from Middle English Middle Low German holm Old Norse holmr or else a habitational name from a place called with this element. The Swedish name is often ornamental.2: English: topographic name for someone who lived where holly grew from Middle English holm a divergent development of Old English hole(g)n ‘holly (tree)’; or especially in southern England a habitational name from any of the places such as East and West Holme (Dorset) or Holne (Devon). Compare Hollis.
Biggam : from either Bigholm in Beith parish (Ayrs) or Bigholms in Langholm parish (Dumfriess). The final element of the place-names is Older Scots holm (Old Scandinavian holmr) ‘islet; a piece of dry raised land in marsh’ also ‘stretch of low-lying land beside a river; a meadow’. The first element is uncertain perhaps related to Middle English *bigge synonymous with Middle English Older Scots bigging ‘a building’. In the 17th and 18th centuries Scottish Protestant ‘planters’ and migrants took the name to Ulster where it survives as Bingham perhaps partly through confusion with the name in (ii).perhaps in some instances an altered form of Bingham.
Bigham : Scottish (Wigtownshire) and Irish: habitational name from either Bigholm in Beith parish (Ayrshire) or Bigholms in Langholm parish (Dumfriesshire). The second element of the placename is from Older Scots holm (Old Norse holmr) ‘islet’ ‘raised land in a marsh’ ‘a stretch of low-lying land beside a river; a meadow’. The first element may be an unattested Older Scots bigge a shortened form of bigging ‘building’. The name was taken to Ulster in the 17th and 18th centuries where it was used interchangeably with Bingham.
Bromham : from Bromham (Wilts Beds) Broomham in King's Nympton (Devon) or Bromholm (Norfolk). The place-names are from Old English brōm ‘broom’ + hām ‘farming estate’ or in Norfolk + holm (borrowed from Old Scandinavian holmr) ‘island dry land in marsh’.
Broxholme : 1: from Broxholme (Lincs). The place-name appears to be Old Scandinavian *brōk ‘marsh’ in the genitive case form with -s + holm ‘island raised land in marsh’. 2: occasionally a hypercorrect form of Broxson (see Broxton) through false association with locative names in -holme. Compare Brocksom. 3: in western WR Yorks possibly an altered form of Broxup; compare Broscombe.
Cederholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements ceder ‘cedar’ + holm ‘island’.
Chisholm : Scottish: habitational name from Chisholme near Hawick in southern Scotland which derives its name from Old English c̄se cēse ‘cheese’ (from Latin caseus) + holm ‘piece of dry land in a fen’ and refers to a waterside meadow good for dairy farming and hence for producing cheeses. In the 14th century members of this family migrated to the Highlands settling in Strathglass where their name was Gaelicized as Siosal.
Cosco : 1: Italian: masculinized form of Cosca a topographic name from the Calabrian dialect word c(u)oscu ‘oak’ also ‘wood’.2: Catalan (Coscó): topographic name for someone who lived by a dwarf holm oak Catalan coscó.
Deleuze : 1: Walloon and French: habitational name with fused preposition de ‘from’ denoting someone from Leuze the name of several places in Belgium and France especially one in Hainaut a province of southern Belgium near the French border.2: French (southern): topographic name with fused preposition de ‘from’ denoting someone from a place where holm oaks grew from Occitan euse ‘holm oak’. Compare Delooze 2.
Durham : English:: 1: habitational name from the city of Durham recorded as Dunholm in 1056 and Duram in 1297 named from Old English dūn ‘hill’ (see Down 1) + late Old English holm (from Old Norse holmr ‘island’).2: variant of Derham.
Edholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements ed ‘passage isthmus’ (probably from a placename) + holm ‘small island’.
Ekholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements ek ‘oak’ + holm ‘island’.
Engholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements eng a variant of äng ‘meadow’ (possibly from a placename) + holm ‘small island’.
Fairholm : 1: from Fairholme in Benningholme (ER Yorks) which is recorded as Fayrholm in the 13th century or from a lost place called Fayrhome in Brierley (WR Yorks) which is recorded thus in 1438. Both place-names derive from Middle English fair ‘fair beautiful’ + holm ‘islet raised land in a marsh piece of land partly surrounded by water’.possibly also from Fairham Bridge in Ruddington (Notts) which is recorded as Feareholme bridge in 1690. The second element of the place-name is Middle English holm ‘islet raised land in a marsh piece of land partly surrounded by water’ while the first is uncertain. However given the lateness of the place-name record and the late appearance of bearers in Notts it seems much more likely that the Yorks surname has migrated south. 2: from Fairholm in Crawfordjohn (Lanarks) or Fairholm in Dryfesdale (Dumfriess). The former is recorded as Fairholme in 1613 (Retours Scotland no. 98) probably ‘a holm (low land by a river etc.) where fairs are or were held’.
Garriga : Catalan and southern French: topographic name from garriga ‘barren land where only holm oaks or kermes oaks grow’. In France this is a dialect variant of Garrigues.
Garrigues : French (southern): from Old Occitan garrique ‘barren land where only holm oaks or kermes oaks grow’ (feminine of garric ‘kermes oak’); a topographic name for someone who lived by such a grove or a habitational name from any of various places called with this word such as Les Garrigues in Tarn-et-Garonne and Vaucluse. Compare Garrigus.
Granholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements gran ‘spruce’ + holm ‘island’. This surname is also common in Finland.
Holgerson : 1: Americanized form (and a rare Swedish variant) of Swedish Holgersson: patronymic from the personal name Holger from Old Swedish and Danish Holmger composed of the elements holm ‘islet’ + -gēr ‘spear’.2: Americanized form of Danish and Norwegian Holgersen a cognate of 1 above.
Holmbeck : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements holm ‘island’ (possibly from a placename) + beck a variant of bäck ‘stream’.
Holmberg : Swedish: ornamental name from holm ‘island’ (possibly as a placename element) + berg ‘mountain hill’.
Holmes : 1: English: either from the plural form of Holme or else a variant of Holme or Home with excrescent -s (see Holm).2: Scottish: probably a habitational name from Holmes near Dundonald (Ayrshire) or possibly from another place so called in the barony of Inchestuir (Angus). Both placenames likely derive from the plural form of Middle English Older Scots holm ‘islet raised land in a marsh’ (see Holm).3: Scottish and Irish: adopted for Scottish Gaelic and Irish Mac Thómais Mac Thómais (see McComb). In parts of western Ireland Holmes is also a variant of Cavish from Gaelic Mac Thámhais another patronymic from Thomas. Early bearers in Ireland were probably immigrants from Scotland.
Holmgren : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements holm ‘island’ (possibly from a placename) + gren ‘branch’.
Holmlund : Swedish and Norwegian: ornamental name composed of the elements holm ‘island’ (possibly from a placename) + lund ‘grove’.
Holmquist : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements holm ‘island’ (possibly from a placename) + quist an old or ornamental spelling of kvist ‘twig’.
Holmstrom : Swedish (Holmström): ornamental name composed of the elements holm ‘island’ (possibly from a placename) + ström ‘river’.
Homer : 1: English: topographic name for a dweller by a holly bush from Middle English holm (Old English holen) + the agent suffix -er a type of formation characteristic of Hampshire and Sussex. See Holm 2.2: English: habitational name from Holmer (Herefordshire) Holmer Green (Buckinghamshire) or Homer (Devon) or else from other unrecorded placenames formed with Middle English hol(g)h + mere ‘pool by or in the hollow’ (Old English holh + mere).3: American shortened and altered form of Greek Omiros or one of its patronymic derivatives (Omirou which is found mainly in Cyprus Omiridis etc.). This was not only the name of the classical Greek epic poet (classical Greek Homēros) but was also borne by a Christian martyr venerated in the Greek Orthodox Church.4: Slovenian: variant of Homar and in North America probably also an altered form of this.
Jarry : 1: French: topographic name from a regional masculine variant of Old French garrigue Occitan garrique ‘barren land where only holm oaks or kermes oaks grow’ (see Garrigues); or a habitational name from (Le) Jarry the name of several places in various parts of France.2: English (of Norman origin): variant of Geary.
Kelday : from Keldall in Holm (Orkney).
Kilday : 1: Irish (Galway): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Dhé ‘son of the servant of God’ from Dia ‘God’. The name originated with a monastic family in Donegal in the 11th century and has always been more or less confined to northwestern Ireland where it is usually written Kildea.2: Scottish: variant of Kelday a habitational name from Keldall in Holm (Orkney).3: Irish: variant of Gildea.
Kronholm : 1: Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements kron ‘crown’ + holm ‘inlet island’.2: Danish: habitational name from a farm named with the same elements as in 1 above.
Lindholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements lind ‘lime tree’ + holm ‘island’.
Lundholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements lund ‘grove’ + holm ‘island’.
Nordholm : 1: Norwegian: habitational name from a farm name composed of nord ‘north’ + holm ‘islet’.2: Swedish: ornamental name formed with the same elements as 1 above.
Nyholm : Swedish: ornamental name formed with ny ‘new’ + holm ‘island’.
Osterholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements öster ‘eastern’ + holm ‘islet’.
Perrow : 1: Americanized form of French Perrault and Pérot (see Perot). Compare Perow.2: Cornish: from the Cornish personal name Perow a pet form of Old French and Middle English Per(es) (i.e. Peter see Pear Pierce) with the Cornish hypocoristic suffix -ow.3: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Pirhou in Manche Normandy; the placename is of uncertain origin but may include holm ‘water-meadow’ of Scandinavian origin. It is not known if this surname survived into the modern period.
Sandholm : Swedish: ornamental name from sand ‘sand’ + holm ‘island’.
Seaholm : Americanized form of Swedish Sjöholm: ornamental name composed of the elements sjö ‘sea lake’ + holm ‘islet’.
Soderholm : Swedish (Söderholm): ornamental name composed of the elements söder ‘south’ + holm ‘island’.
Stockholm : 1: Americanized form of Danish Stokholm: habitational name from a place or farm so named a compound of stok ‘beam log’ and holm ‘islet’ denoting an islet with trees or referring to the oblong size of an islet.2: Americanized form of Norwegian Stokholm: habitational name from a farm named after Stockholm in Sweden and also from an altered form of the farm name Skotholmen in Hordaland from skot (related to skyta ‘shoot’ denoting a land formation that juts out) + holme ‘islet’.
Sundholm : Swedish: ornamental name from sund ‘strait sound’ (possibly as a placename element) + holm ‘island’.
Terlizzi : Italian (southern): habitational name from Terlizzi in Bari province probably so named from Latin inter iliceas ‘among the holm oaks’.
Westerholm : Swedish: ornamental name composed of (an altered form of) the elements väster ‘western’ + holm ‘islet small island’.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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