boy's name
Holden
HOHL-dun
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 35,590
the United States
#297
2025 births
Holden is a boy's name of English origin meaning "deep valley". It comes from the Old English hol, hollow, and denu, a valley, and its modern use owes almost everything to the narrator of The Catcher in the Rye.
- Holden is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2018, when 1,757 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,893 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1902.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Holden over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 5 |
| 1910s | 28 |
| 1920s | 68 |
| 1930s | 34 |
| 1940s | 32 |
| 1950s | 47 |
| 1960s | 70 |
| 1970s | 44 |
| 1980s | 526 |
| 1990s | 3,401 |
| 2000s | 7,361 |
| 2010s | 13,196 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,983 |
What Holden means
Holden describes a hollow valley — a deep or sunken one. It is a topographic surname naming where a family lived, from two of the most common elements in English place names.
Where Holden comes from
Holden comes from the Old English hol, hollow or deep, and denu, a valley, and names settlements in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Both elements are everywhere in English toponymy: denu gives the ending of Marsden and Ogden, and hol survives in hollow. The surname was well established by the medieval period. Its life as a first name is entirely modern and almost entirely literary: J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, published in 1951, put the name into general awareness, and use climbed through the late twentieth century. In Australia the name carries a different weight, as the country's long-running car marque.
Holden in use
Holden peaked in 2018 and charts in four of the seven countries we track.
How popular is Holden?
In 2025, Holden was given to 1,146 babies in the United States, ranking #297 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Holden is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Holden
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Holden also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Holden over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Holden
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Holden in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Holdyn
Sibling names for Holden
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Holden — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Holden
What does the name Holden mean?
Deep valley, from the Old English hol, hollow, and denu, a valley.
Is Holden from Catcher in the Rye?
Modern use follows Holden Caulfield closely, though the surname and the place names are centuries older.
Is Holden a boy's or a girl's name?
It is given almost entirely to boys.
How popular is the name Holden?
In 2025, Holden was given to 1,146 babies in the United States, ranking #297 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Holden?
Holden has 2 syllables.
When was Holden most popular?
Holden peaked in 2018, when 1,757 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Holden?
Holden is usually shortened to Holt.
Is Holden a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Holden currently ranks #297 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.