63,801 Global Holvey Family Members

Holvey Family History

Family spelling variants include Holoway, Hollaway, Hollway, Hollwey, Holway, Holdaway, Holvey.

An English locative name for a Dweller at the Hollow- Way, from Middle English hol(g)h ‘hollow’ + weie ‘way, road’. From Old English hol (h, hollow + weg, path, way). 

It may also be topographic, for someone who lived ‘(by the) sunken road’, or toponymic from any of the numerous places so named, such as Holloway (Middlesex) or Holway (Somerset).

In Ireland, it has sometimes been Gaelicised as Ó hAilmhic (Hulvey).

Early bearers of the surname include: John Holewey, 1279 in Hundred Rolls (Oxon); John del Hollewaye, 1308 in Wakefield Court Rolls (Yorks); Hugh atte Holewey, 1310 in London Letter Books D; Digerus Holowey, 1377 in Poll Tax (Upper Arley, Staffs); Waltero Holaway, 1379 in Poll Tax (Fonthill Gifford, Wilts); Rosa Holway, 1381 in Poll Tax (Reading liberty, Berks); John Holeway, 1414 in Feet of Fines (Charleton, Devon); John Hollowaye, 1537 in PROB 11 (Stoke Gabriel, Devon); Frances Holloway, 1571 in PROB 11 (Newbury, Berks); Robert Hollwey, 1587 in Parish Registers (Kingsclere, Hants); Henry Holloway, 1626 in PROB 11 (Over Aveley, Staffs).

Thomas Holloway, an English convict from Worcester, was transported aboard the "America" on 4th April 1829, settling in New South Wales, Australia.

In 1891 Census, there were 9,308 occurrences of the surname in England and Wales, with a fewer 9 occurrences in Scotland. 

In 1881 Census, the surname was widespread, especially in Worcestershire and Hampshire. Worcestershire was recorded as a top county with 559 occurrences.

In 1881, Labourer, Agricultural Labourer and Farmer were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Holloway. The most common Holloway occupation in the UK was Labourer. A less common occupation was Bricklayer.

The noted Thomas Holloway (1800 – 1883) was an English patent medicine vendor and philanthropist. Holloway is remembered for the two large institutions which he built in England: Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey and Royal Holloway College, a college of the University of London in Englefield Green, Surrey. They were founded by Holloway as "Gifts to the nation".

Stanley Augustus Holloway, OBE (1890 – 1982) was an English actor, humourist, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles, especially Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Hollow was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1960 New Year Honours, for his services to entertainment.

1881, 1891 Census

1881 Census in Worcestershire

Dictionary of American Family Homes, P Hanks OUP 2003

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain, H.B. Guppy, London 1890

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, P.Hanks, Coats, McClure OUP 2016

1860 Lower, Mark A Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom, London: J.R Smith. Public Domain

1857 Arthur, William An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain

https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/america/1829

J.M.P