Explore the Family Name Holyoke

The meaning of Holyoke

English: variant of Holyoak. History: Edward Holyoke emigrated from England and settled in Lynn, MA, in 1638. His descendants include Rev. Edward Holyoke, president of Harvard College from 1737 to 1769, and other prominent educators.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Holyoke in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Holyoke saw a slight increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 70,906 in popularity, but by 2010 it had improved its rank to 69,996, which represents a small change of 1.28%. The count, or number of people with the Holyoke surname, also increased from 257 in 2000 to 280 in 2010, an uptick of 8.95%. However, when we look at the proportion per 100,000 people, there was a decrease of 10%, from 0.1 in 2000 to 0.09 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#70,906#69,9961.28%
Count2572808.95%
Proportion per 100k0.10.09-10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Holyoke

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that individuals with the Holyoke surname have diverse backgrounds. As of 2010, the majority of people with this surname identified as White (89.64%), although this was a slight decrease from 2000 when it stood at 91.05%. There was a modest representation of people who identified as having two or more races (3.93% in 2010) and Hispanic (2.14% in 2010), though these percentages represented declines from 2000. Interestingly, there was a shift in the Asian/Pacific Islander category. While no one identified as such in 2000, by 2010, 3.93% of those with the Holyoke surname did. For Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native categories, the numbers remained unchanged with no one identifying as such in both 2000 and 2010.

20002010Change
White91.05%89.64%-1.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%3.93%0%
Two or More Races4.67%3.93%-15.85%
Hispanic3.11%2.14%-31.19%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%