Holmes (surname)

Holmes is an English-language surname with several origins.

Holmes

Language(s)	English
Origin
Language(s)	English
Meaning	Various
Other names
Variant form(s)	Holme

The name can be a variant of the surname Holme.^[1] This surname has several etymological origins: it can be derived from a name for someone who lived next to a holly tree, from the Middle English holm; it can also be derived from the Old English holm and Old Norse holmr.^[2] Another probable origin of Holmes is from a placename near Dundonald, or else a place located in the barony of Inchestuir. The surname is also sometimes an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Mac Thomáis; similarly, Holmes can also be a variant of Cavish, derived as an Anglicised form of Mac Thámhais.^[1]

People

A

• Alan Holmes, Welsh musician and record producer
• Albert Holmes (footballer, born 1885) (1885–?), English footballer
• Albert Holmes (footballer born 1942), English-born footballer
• Alex Holmes (born 1981), American football player
• Alexander Holmes, crewman of the ship William Brown, convicted of manslaughter in 1841 for forcing passengers out of an overloaded lifeboat
• Alexander Holmes, pseudonym of Hans Habe
• Alfred Holmes (1931–1994), sergeant of the Gibraltar Regiment
• Alfred Holmes (composer) (1837–1876), violinist and composer
• Alice Waring Holmes (1872 – 1939), dentist and suffragette
• Alvin Holmes (1939–2020), American politician
• Andre Holmes (born 1988), American football player; brother of Jason Holmes (see below)
• Andrew Holmes (disambiguation), multiple people
• Anthony Holmes, British author and businessman
• Anthony D. Holmes (born 1945), Australian plastic and reconstructive surgeon
• J. Anthony Holmes, American diplomat
• Arthur Holmes (1890–1965), British geologist
• Arthur F. Holmes (1924–2011), American professor of philosophy
• Ashton Holmes (born 1978), American film and TV actor
• Augusta Holmès (1847–1903), French composer

B

• Barry Holmes (1928–1949), Anglo-Argentinian rugby union player
• Ben Holmes (1890–1943), American film director
• Benjamin Holmes (disambiguation)
• Besby Holmes (1917–2006), American World War II fighter pilot
• Bill Holmes (disambiguation)
• Brad Holmes (born 1979), American football executive
• Brenda Swann Holmes, American research chemist
• Bruce Holmes (born 1965), American football player
• Burton Holmes (1870–1958), American traveller, photographer and filmmaker

C

• Catherine Holmes, Australian judge
• Charles Holmes (disambiguation)
• Charlie Holmes (1910–1985), American jazz saxophonist
• Chris Holmes (disambiguation)
• Christian Holmes (born 1997), American football player
• Christian R. Holmes II (1896–1944), decorated American soldier and zoo owner
• Chuck Holmes (ice hockey) (1934–2019), Canadian hockey player
• Clara H. Holmes (1838–1927), American writer
• Clarence Holmes (born 1968), also known as Ready Rock C, American musician
• Clay Holmes (born 1993), American baseball player
• Clent Holmes (1917–?), American guitarist

D

• Daniel Henry Holmes (1816–1898), American businessman
• Danny Holmes (born 1989), English footballer
• Darnay Holmes (born 1998), American football player
• Darren Holmes (baseball) (born 1966), American baseball player and coach
• Dave Holmes (actor) (born 1971), American television personality
• Dave Holmes (sportscaster), American sportscaster
• David Holmes (disambiguation)
• Derek Holmes (born 1978), Scottish footballer
• Derek Holmes (ice hockey) (born 1939), Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and administrator
• Diane Holmes (born 1935), Canadian politician
• Don Holmes (born 1959), Australian rules football player
• Don Holmes (American football) (born 1961), American former National Football League player and college coach
• Donald F. Holmes (1910–1980), American inventor
• Donald Grahame Holmes, Australian electrical engineer

E

• Eamonn Holmes (born 1959), Northern Irish journalist and broadcaster
• Earl Holmes, American football player
• Edmond Holmes (1850–1936), English writer and poet
• Edward Morell Holmes (1843–1930), British botanist
• Edwin Holmes (disambiguation)
• Elizabeth Holmes, American businesswoman, founder of Theranos
• Emma Holmes, American Civil War diarist
• Eric Holmes (racing driver) (born 1974), American race car driver
• Eric Holmes (video game designer), Scottish writer, creative director and videogame designer
• Eric Leighton Holmes, British chemist
• Ernest Holmes (1887–1960), founder of the movement known as Religious Science, also known as "Science of Mind," a part of the New Thought Movement
• Ernie Holmes (1948–2008), American football player
• Errol Holmes (1905–1960), English cricketer

F

• Frank Holmes (disambiguation)
• Fred Holmes (1878–1956), American baseball player
• Frederic L. Holmes (1932–2003), American historian of science
• Frederick Hale Holmes (1812–1875), British professor of chemistry, pioneer of electric lighting and inventor
• Frederick William Holmes (1889–1969), English soldier awarded the Victoria Cross

G

• Gabriel Holmes (1769–1829), American politician
• Gavrielle Holmes, American politician
• Genta Hawkins Holmes (born 1940), American foreign service officer
• George Holmes (archivist) (1662–1749), English archivist and editor of Thomas Rymer's Fœdera
• George Holmes (historian) (1927–2009), Chichele Professor of Medieval History Emeritus at the University of Oxford
• George Frederick Holmes (1829–1897), American educator
• George M. Holmes (1929–2009), U.S. politician
• Gordon Morgan Holmes (1876–1965), British neurologist
• Grant Holmes (born 1996), American baseball player
• Greg Holmes (cricketer) (born 1993), Welsh cricketer
• Greg Holmes (rugby union) (born 1983), Australian rugby union player
• Greg Holmes (tennis) (born 1963), American former tennis player

H

• Hamilton E. Holmes (1941–1995), American physician who helped desegregate the University of Georgia as one of the first two African-American students
• Hap Holmes (1889–1940), Canadian ice hockey goalie
• Harold Holmes (disambiguation)
• Harry Holmes (disambiguation)
• Harvey Holmes (1873–1948), American college football player and coach of football, baseball and track
• Helen Freudenberger Holmes (1915–1997), American journalist, historian, teacher, politician and Women's Army Corps officer
• Helen Holmes (actress) (1893–1950), American actress
• Henry Holmes (disambiguation)
• H. H. Holmes (1861–1896), American con man, killer and bigamist
• Howdy Holmes (born 1949), American racing driver
• Hugh Holmes (1840–1916), Irish politician

I

• Ian Holmes (disambiguation)

J

• J. Anthony Holmes, American diplomat
• Jacob Holmes (born 1983), Australian basketball player
• Jackie Holmes (1920–1995), American Formula One driver
• Jake Holmes (born 1939), American folk-pop singer/songwriter
• Jalyn Holmes (born 1996), American football player
• James Holmes (disambiguation)
• Jason Holmes (born 1989), American Australian rules footballer; brother of Andre Holmes
• Jennie Florella Holmes (1842–1892), American suffragist and temperance activist
• Jennifer Holmes (disambiguation), multiple people
• Jerome Holmes (born 1961), American federal judge
• Jessica Holmes (born 1973), Canadian comedian and actor
• Jimmy Holmes (born 1953), Irish former professional footballer
• Joan Holmes (born 1935), founding president of The Hunger Project
• Joe Holmes (born 1963), American heavy metal guitarist
• Joe Holmes (singer) (1906–1978), Irish singer
• Joe Holmes (rugby league), rugby league footballer
• Joel Holmes (1821–1872), English soldier awarded the Victoria Cross
• John Holmes (disambiguation)
• Jon Holmes (born 1973), British comedy writer and broadcaster
• Jonathan Holmes (disambiguation)
• Joseph Holmes (disambiguation)
• Josh Holmes (rugby union) (born 1987), Australian rugby union player
• Josh Holmes (video game designer) (born 1973), Canadian game producer and video game designer
• Julie Lynn Holmes, American former figure skater

K

• Katie Holmes (born 1978), American actress
• Keith Holmes (palaeobotanist) (born 1933), Australian palaeobotanist
• Keith Holmes (boxer) (born 1969), American boxer
• Kelda Holmes (born 1970), English actress
• Kelly Holmes (born 1970), British middle-distance athlete
• Kenneth Holmes (1934–2021), British scientist
• King K. Holmes (born 1937), American physician, medical researcher, and medical school professor
• Kris Holmes (born 1950), American type designer

L

• Larry Holmes (born 1949), American boxer
• La'Shanda Holmes (born 1985), American Coast Guard helicopter pilot
• Laura Holmes (1932–2016), American NSA career cryptanalyst
• Lee Holmes (born 1987), English footballer
• Len Holmes, Australian rugby league footballer
• Linda Holmes (born 1959), American politician
• Lindsey Holmes (born 1973), American politician
• Lizzie Holmes (1850–1926), American anarchist and editor
• Louis Holmes, American football player
• Lucy Holmes (born 1979), British-born Australian TV presenter and performer

M

• Mackenzie Holmes (born c. 2001), American basketball player
• Margaret Holmes (1909–2009), Australian peace activist
• Margaret Holmes (ecumenist) (1886–1981), Australian refugee resettlement officer
• Margaret Flagg Holmes (1886–1976), co-founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
• Mark Holmes (disambiguation)
• Martha Holmes (photographer) (1923–2006), American photographer
• Martha Holmes (broadcaster), British marine biologist, TV journalist and producer
• Mary Holmes (disambiguation)
• Matt Holmes (actor) (born 1976), Australian actor
• Matthew Holmes (engineer) (1844–1903), chief mechanical engineer of the North British Railway
• Maurice Holmes (cricketer), English cricketer and barrister
• Michael Holmes (disambiguation)
• Michelle Holmes (born 1967), English actress
• Mike Holmes (born 1963), Canadian professional contractor and host of Holmes on Homes
• Mike Holmes (born 1948), British electrical engineer
• Mike Holmes (wide receiver) (born 1950), Canadian Football League receiver

N

• Nancy Holmes (born 1959), Canadian poet and educator
• Nick Holmes (disambiguation)

O

• Obadiah Holmes (1610–1682), early Rhode Island settler and Baptist minister
• Oliver Holmes (rugby league) (born 1992), Canadian rugby player
• Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894), poet and essayist
• Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935), justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
• Oscar Holmes (1916–2001), first African-American Naval Aviator and air traffic controller

P

• Paul Holmes (disambiguation)
• Pehr G. Holmes (1881–1952), US Representative from Massachusetts
• Percy Holmes (1886–1971), English cricketer
• Pete or Peter Holmes (disambiguation)
• Philip Holmes (born 1945), American engineering professor
• Phillips Holmes (1907–1942), American film actor
• Portia Holmes Shields, American academic administrator
• Priest Holmes (born 1973), American football player

R

• Ray Holmes (1914–2005), British Second World War fighter pilot
• Rand Holmes, (1942–2002), Canadian comic artist
• Reggie Holmes (born 1987), American basketball player
• Renita Holmes, American housing activist
• Richard Holmes (disambiguation)
• Richaun Holmes (born 1993), American basketball player
• Robert Holmes (disambiguation)
• Rupert Holmes, British-American composer, singer-songwriter and dramatist
• Ruth Bradley Holmes (1924–2021), American linguist, educator, and polyglot

S

• Samuel Jackson Holmes (1868–1964), American zoologist
• Santonio Holmes (born 1984), American footballer and Super Bowl XLIII MVP
• Sharon Holmes (1950–2015), Canadian artist (née Sharon Christian)
• Simon Hugh Holmes (1831–1919), Nova Scotia politician, publisher and lawyer
• Stanley Holmes, 1st Baron Dovercourt (1878–1961), British politician
• Steve Holmes (actor) (born 1961), Romanian-born German pornographic film actor
• Susan Holmes (disambiguation)

T

• Taylor Holmes (1878–1959), American stage actor
• Terry Holmes (born 1957), former Welsh international rugby union player
• Theophilus H. Holmes (1804–1880), Confederate Civil War lieutenant general
• Thomas Holmes (disambiguation)
• Tim Holmes (artist) (born 1955), American sculptor, filmmaker and musician
• Tim Holmes (actor) (born 1967), American actor
• Timothy Holmes (1825–1907), English surgeon
• Tina Holmes (born 1973), American television and film actress
• Tom Holmes (born 1979), contemporary American artist
• Tom Holmes (British politician) (born 1930s), current chairman of the far-right British political party the National Front
• Tommy Holmes (1917–2008), American baseball player

V

• Valentine Holmes (born 1995), Australian-born American football player and rugby player
• Valerie Susan Holmes (born 1946), English beauty pageant contestant
• Victoria Holmes, English novelist

W

• William Holmes (Australian general) (1862–1917), Australian Army Major General during World War I
• William Holmes (British general), British Army officer of WWI and WWII
• William Edgar Holmes (1895–1918), English soldier and VC recipient
• William Holmes (1779–1851), British politician
• William Holmes (British Army officer) (1892–1969), British general during the Second World War
• William Henry Holmes (1846–1933), American anthropologist, archaeologist, geologist and museum director
• William Henry Holmes (musician) (1812–1885), English musician

Fictional characters

• Enola Holmes (character), sister of Sherlock Holmes created by Nancy Springer
• Hemlock Holmes, a character from UPA's Dick Tracy cartoon
• Mycroft Holmes, brother of Sherlock Holmes
• Sherlock Holmes, fictional detective

References

1. Holmes Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 10 February 2012. This webpage cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
2. Holme Family History, Ancestry.com, retrieved 10 February 2012. This webpage cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.

See also

• Justice Holmes (disambiguation)
• Safiya Henderson-Holmes (1950–2001), African-American poet
• Holmes à Court, a surname
• Derek St. Holmes (born 1953), American musician
• Holm (surname)