Where does “Holley” come from?
Holley is an English surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Holly, an English plant name with roots in Old English holegn.
Ancestry of “Holley”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Holly | Any of various shrubs or (mostly) small trees, of the genus Ilex, either evergreen or deciduous, used as decoration especially at Christmas |
| 2 | Middle English | holly | Alternative form of holy |
| 3 | Old English | holeġn | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hulis | holly |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kel- | to hit; beat; to pierce, to stab; goblet |