Holt is a
surname and placename, of
Proto-Germanic origin and meaning a small wood or grove of
trees.[1] It derives from the
Old English word holt and is a near-synonym of "wold" (from Old English wald), originally denoting a forested upland. Those words are
cognate with the modern German words "Holz" and "Wald" respectively.[citation needed]
The word is also found in
Scandinavian placenames and in surnames derived from them: in Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic as Holt (or the more archaic Danish Holdt and Holte); in Swedish as Hult or Hulte; and even in Finnish as Hulti (a
loanword from Swedish). It is often used in combination with other words, as in Uhrenholdt ("ancient holt", a Danish last name taken from that of an estate) or
Älghult ("
elk holt"), a village and the site of a small art-glass factory in
Småland, Sweden. In Sweden it is most commonly found in and around
Småland, including
Älmhult, the location of the first
IKEA store.[citation needed]
Another spelling of the name is "Hoult", more commonly found in the north of England than in the south.
This page lists people with the
surnameHolt. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Holt is a
surname and placename, of
Proto-Germanic origin and meaning a small wood or grove of
trees.[1] It derives from the
Old English word holt and is a near-synonym of "wold" (from Old English wald), originally denoting a forested upland. Those words are
cognate with the modern German words "Holz" and "Wald" respectively.[citation needed]
The word is also found in
Scandinavian placenames and in surnames derived from them: in Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic as Holt (or the more archaic Danish Holdt and Holte); in Swedish as Hult or Hulte; and even in Finnish as Hulti (a
loanword from Swedish). It is often used in combination with other words, as in Uhrenholdt ("ancient holt", a Danish last name taken from that of an estate) or
Älghult ("
elk holt"), a village and the site of a small art-glass factory in
Småland, Sweden. In Sweden it is most commonly found in and around
Småland, including
Älmhult, the location of the first
IKEA store.[citation needed]
Another spelling of the name is "Hoult", more commonly found in the north of England than in the south.
This page lists people with the
surnameHolt. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.