Hollis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hollis is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Hollis family once lived near a field of holly having derived from the word for holly in the language of the time. In Old English the word for holly is holegn, or possibly holen, or even holen. The original bearer of the name lived near a patch of holly noted for its fecundity. 1

While the name is generally accepted to be Anglo-Saxon, one source claims that it originated in Normandy as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae records Robert de Holis, Normandy, 1198. 2

Adding the “n” as in Hollins, was quite common as both refer to the “holly” origin. 3