Hollister (family name)

Hollister is an English family name from the Gloucester Region of England, United Kingdom, now most populous in the United States of America. In 1992, it was estimated that there were 2204 households in the USA, 94 in Canada, 81 in Australia, 21 in New Zealand, 3 in Denmark and 371 in Great Britain.

Derivation

One source suggests that the name Hollister is associated with Hollier, in the same way that Baxter is known to be a 'feminine' form of Baker. The IGI suggests that the stronghold of the Hollister name is Wickwar in Gloucestershire, which happens also to be the stronghold of the Hallier surname, rather than Hollier. [http://www.hollyer.info/var.php]

The surname dictionaries usually reference a link between Hollister and Hollier and variously describe its meaning as relating to Old English or Old French words meaning ‘Dweller by the holly tree’ - hardly surprising - or ‘Whoremonger’ which most of us would prefer to pass over quickly. Such dictionaries rarely give any proof of such assertions and so must be considered as speculative. [http://www.hollyer.info/var.php]

Heraldry

There are two Coats of Arms often associated with the family name Hollister, however it has not been shown that either have been officially linked to the name "since Coats of Arms are associated with families, not surnames". It should be noted that Coats of Arms cannot automatically be claimed by any member of a family. The Coat of Arms is bestowed on an individual and is passed to the eldest child (usually son). Younger children officially have to use differencing when displaying arms.

Most often Burke's General Armoury is quoted as listing the following for the name Hollister:

Sable on a bend between a Greyhound Courant bendways in chief and a Dolphin Haurient in base argent three Torteaux, on a chief of the second three sprigs of Strawberry fructed proper.

This translates as:

A black field with a silver bend. On the bend 3 red circles. Above the bend a silver greyhound in line with the bend, and below the bend a silver dolphin erect with head upwards. At the top of the shield a silver field with 3 sprigs of strawberry with natural coloured fruit.

This is, however an erroneous link, even in terms of the surname. In fact this coat of arms is linked to the name Hollist. Commercial heraldry companies continue to link the name and the coat of arms.

Another coat of arms, a derivation of this, was published in an unknown US book. The differences include using strawberry fruit instead of the torteaux.

Variations

English variations

Variations from other countries and cultures

"Hollister" in other languages

Comparative note

Migration

To Australia

The first recorded migration of a Hollister to Australia was with the First Fleet in 1788, Job Hollister, on the Convict Transport Alexander. Hollistrer was sentenced in Bristol, England to 7 years of penal servitude in New South Wales, for stealing tobacco. There are no further records of Job Hollister.

In about 1855 Augustus Henry Hollister, of Frampton Cotterel, UK, migrated to Victoria to search for gold. Later his father, Levi Hollister, migrated to see the 3 sons who had migrated.

In 1866, James Hollister migrated to South Australia aboard the "Prince of Wales" from Somerset, England. This is the major Hollister line in South Australia

To the United State of America

Lieut. John Hollister went to America in 1642 and settled at Wethersfield, Conn.; b. 1612; m. Joanna (d. 1694), dau of Richard Treat, and died in April of 1665.

To Denmark

In 1969 a Gunnar Jensen bought the name in the USA, (dead 2005) and went back to Denmark, where his daughter also took the name Hollister, and through him 3 people has the lastname.

Hollister place names

*Hollister, California, named after William Welles Hollister
*Hollister, Idaho
*Hollister, Missouri, named after the birthplace of store owner Reuben Kirkham's daughter, Hollister, California
*Hollister, North Carolina
*Hollister, Oklahoma
*Hollister Ranch, the fourth largest cattle ranch in Santa Barbara County, California

People of note with the surname Hollister

Non-fictional

*Albie Hollister, Boxer - fought Randolf Turpin
*Alice Hollister, an American silent film actress
*Benjamin Hollister, Consumer Analyst, co-writer of Shopping For A Better World
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/17/nhon117.xml Major Ben Hollister MBE MC] , commander B Company of 1st Bn, The King's Regiment
*Brett Hollister, member of New Zealand Bronze Medal winning coxed fours at the 1984 Summer Olympics
*C. Warren Hollister, historian and author of "Medieval Europe: A Short History"
*Dave Hollister, an American R&B vocalist during the 1990s, one-fourth of the R&B quartet BLACKstreet, and later a solo artist
*David Hollister, a Michigan politician
*Di Hollister, along with Christine Milne, first female Greens member of parliament in Australia
*George K. Hollister (7 March 1873 - 28 March 1952) was an American pioneer cinematographer
*Lyle Eugene Hollister, one of the three Hollister brothers, all sailors in the United States Navy during World War II, who were killed in 1943
*John Hollister, Republican congressman
*Kelly Hollister, entrepreneur
*Lindsay Hollister, actor
*Nancy Putnam Hollister, a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Ohio
*Richard Jerome Hollister, one of the three Hollister brothers, all sailors in the United States Navy during World War II, who were killed in 1943
*William Howard Hollister, one of the three Hollister brothers, all sailors in the United States Navy during World War II, who were killed in 1943
*William Welles Hollister (1818-1886) was a California rancher and entrepreneur

Fictional

*Lt Ben Hollister, USAF WWII pilot (played by Peter Brown), The Action of the Tiger, Kraft Theater episode
*Captain Frank Hollister, Captain of the Red Dwarf, Red Dwarf sci-fi television series
*Ethel Hollister, a character in the Campfire Girls novels
*The Happy Hollisters, children's mystery book family
*Hayley Wilson Hollister, character played by Dana Delany in As the World Turns
*Jack Hollister aka Skysurfer One, animated character in Skysurfer Strike Force
*Major "Mad Dog" Hollister, Marine Major (played by Bill Bailey (US)), Water (1985 film), motion picture
*Park Ranger Hollister, character played by Steve Inwood in

References

* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/peter.walker6/holname/about.htm|"About The Hollyer, Holyer and Hollier Names"]