Hollis is an Old English surname name meaning "dweller by the holly trees" — from holegn (holly). With about 5,289 SSA records and a 2024 peak, it is riding the wave of surname-style gender-neutral names that has reshaped American girls' naming over the past decade. Hollis lands in the same conversation as Marlowe, Sloane, Ellis, and Reese: one-or-two syllable, historically masculine or neutral, now primarily female in American usage.
Old English Nature Roots
Holly trees have been significant in English and Celtic cultural tradition for centuries — associated with winter, protection, and the turning of the year. The surname Hollis identified families who lived near holly groves, which was common enough in medieval England to generate a widespread surname. Old English nature surnames turned given names — Hollis, Heath, Forrest, Rowan ; carry a quiet connection to the English landscape without requiring any explicit statement of that heritage. The name works as a nature name and a surname name simultaneously.
The Gender-Neutral Surname Wave
Hollis arrived in girls' naming through the same door as Parker, Quinn, and Emerson ; parents choosing names that read as capable and professional as well as warm. The s ending is particularly useful for gender-neutral surname names: Ellis, Frances, Brooks, Hollis all avoid the -a or -ie endings that read as specifically feminine. Six-letter girl names in this mode have performed strongly over the past several years as parents seek names that carry authority without being traditionally masculine.
The Counter-Reading: Still Genuinely Rare
With about 5,289 total SSA records, Hollis is not a common name by any measure. A 2024 peak suggests it is still rising ; which means right now is the moment to use it before it becomes genuinely familiar. It's the kind of name that will read as distinctive for at least another decade. Compare Hollis and Marlowe to see two names on the same gender-neutral surname trajectory with slightly different rates of adoption.