Holder Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Holder last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Holder last name
Meaning of the Holder last name: tenant, landholder. Holder is an English surname for a tenant, someone who held land from a lord, from Middle English holder. In some American families it is also an English form of German Holder, from a word for the elder tree. The last name is found in southern England and the Midlands and was carried to Virginia and North Carolina. A curious detail of this family name meaning: the same name can point to land or to a tree.
Arms associated with the Holder name
In England younger sons added small heraldic marks to their father's coat of arms, so relatives named Holder could each carry a slightly different shield.
Get your full Holder family history
This is only a glimpse of the Holder story. The full Holder history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Holder coat of arms. Get the full Holder report.
Holder name FAQ
What does the Holder name mean?
Tenant, landholder. Common variants include Houlder, Holdar.
Where does the Holder surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Holder coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Holder coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).