Holmes
An English surname of local origin from Holme in Dorset and Yorkshire (West Riding). From the Old Norse holmr meaning ‘residence near a piece of flat land in a fen’ or ‘by a piece of land partly surrounded by streams’. A Scottish surname of local origin, from Holmes near Dundonald in Kyle Stewart and in the Barony of Inchestuir. In 1890 Holmes was principally found in Antrim and Dublin, and the estimated number of bearers was 3,765. In the United States it is the 145th most numerous surname with an estimated 178,750 bearers. In England and Wales in 1996 it was the 87th most numerous surname.