Holly
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from English. * As an Irish surname, calque of mac cuilinn (“holly”) (see McCullen) and sometimes McQuillan. * As an English surname, variant of Holley. * As a Czech and Slovak surname, variant of Holý, Holy. * Also as a locational English surname, from Old English hol leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”), compare Hollywood. * Also as an English surname, short form of Holiday. * Also as an English surname, after the holly tree.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Holly (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Holly has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2016. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 6 |
| 2005 | 8 |
| 2006 | 12 |
| 2007 | 15 |
| 2008 | 27 |
| 2009 | 32 |
| 2010 | 33 |
| 2011 | 51 |
| 2012 | 40 |
| 2013 | 57 |
| 2014 | 64 |
| 2015 | 57 |
| 2016 | 79 |
| 2017 | 55 |
| 2018 | 47 |
| 2019 | 57 |
| 2020 | 46 |
| 2021 | 42 |
| 2022 | 31 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 26 |
| 2000 | 30 |
| 2001 | 33 |
| 2002 | 40 |
| 2003 | 44 |
| 2004 | 50 |
| 2005 | 56 |
| 2006 | 68 |
| 2007 | 90 |
| 2008 | 122 |
| 2009 | 154 |
| 2010 | 184 |
| 2011 | 236 |
| 2012 | 276 |
| 2013 | 334 |
| 2014 | 408 |
| 2015 | 467 |
| 2016 | 547 |
| 2017 | 611 |
| 2018 | 672 |
| 2019 | 729 |
| 2020 | 776 |
Holly in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Holly.Hi! My name is Holly.
- Holly ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Holly called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Holly kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Holly is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Hollys mamma är lärare.Holly's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Hollys mamma is Holly's mum.
More names
Questions about Holly
How do you pronounce Holly in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Holly in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Holly mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from English. * As an Irish surname, calque of mac cuilinn (“holly”) (see McCullen) and sometimes McQuillan. * As an English surname, variant of Holley. * As a Czech and Slovak surname, variant of Holý, Holy. * Also as a locational English surname, from Old English hol leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”), compare Hollywood. * Also as an English surname, short form of Holiday. * Also as an English surname, after the holly tree.
How popular is Holly in Sweden?
31 babies were named Holly in 2022. In 2020, 776 people in Sweden had Holly as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2016 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.