The Holt Family History and Genealogy Page

Please email me (cipherman@juno.com) if you have other Holt-related information to add to this page. It would be nice to have information on Holts in other countries besides England (i.e. Germany, Canada, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, etc).

A Holt Family Coat of Arms (England)


Copyright © 1996 The Historical Research Center, Inc.
(Click on the image to get a full-size image. 74K.)

For more information on Heraldry, start with

Please note that there is no coat of arms that is automatically granted to all bearers of the surname Holt. Arms are associated with particular families or lineages. Nevertheless, these coats of arms are interesting and informative.

Q. Do coats of arms belong to surnames?

A. No. There is no such thing as a 'coat of arms for a surname'. Many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms. Coats of arms belong to individuals. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

By the way, other good references I'd like to research are A Dictionary of Surnames by Hanes and Hodges and General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales by John B. Burke.

Another rendition of the Holt Coat of Arms

(Click on the image to get a full-size image. 258K.)

Yet another rendition of the Holt Coat of Arms

This image was found another Holt web site:
Descendants of Richard HOLT I.

Yet another novel rendition of the Holt Coat of Arms

This image was contributed by Kristine Holt who furnished the following information. Our family started out in Germany and England , then to Virginia , North Carolina , Tennessee and Russell Kentucky ( then to Adair ) this is where my grandfather was born . Our Holt men are fair haired and blue eyed. Not too tall, very intelligent and honorable. Also great sense of humor. Love of family , country and honorable. Perhaps you can tell I was crazy about my father. If you would like to share information , please let me know. I think this crest is very interesting. I have had a chance to look at all of the components, The Latin is " Thus do we reach the stars ". ( the way to immortality ) The stars indicate - Celestial goodness a Noble person and excellence.
It is the only one I have seen with the six pointed star and not the modified cross:


An Old Portrait


Sir Thomas Holte

The Holt Family Name History

The English surname Holt is of local origin, being one of those names derived from the place where a man once lived or where he once held land. In this instance the name is derived from the Old English term "holt" which simply means "a wood" or "a grove", thus the original bearer of the name lived near of in a wood or grove. Early instances of the surname are often preceded by the words "de" or "del" which literally man "from", thus reinforcing the local origin of the name.

The earliest instance of this surname found in the English records is one Hugh de Holte of Kent, whose name was recorded in 1185 in the Knights Templar Records. A 5th-century Scandinavian reference to the name Holt is found on the Gallehus Horns. In 1230 one Simon del Holt was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire. In 1699 one Ellen Holt, aged 27, went to the United States to work in Virginia, the the same year one George Holt, aged 17, from Yorkshire, also went to Virginia. Today in the United States a recent survey estimated that there are 80,000 bearers of the name living in the country.

Notable bearers of the name included Harold Edward Holt (1908-1967), an Australian Liberal politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1935-1967. He died in a [suspicious] swimming accident. [He was prime minister of Australia (1966-1967). His body was never recovered.]

BLAZON OF ARMS:
"Azure, two bars or, in chief a cross formee fitchee of the last."
Translation:
The background colour azure (blue) signifies Loyalty and Truth. The cross is a symbol of the Christian Faith.
CREST:
"A squirrel sejant or, holding a hazel branch slipped and fructed all proper."
Translation:
The squirrel signifies that the bearer was most happy in Rural Retirement and is a Lover of Woodland. The hazel branch is a symbol of Abundance.
MOTTO:
"Exaltavit humiles."
Translation:
He hath exalted the humble.
ORIGIN:
England

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995 The Historical Research Center, Inc. See also Swyrich Corporation.

Another Description of the Origin of the Surname Holt

The surname Holt has two possible origins, one from a place so named of which there are several examples in England, and the second, toponymical from the Old English word holt, - 'wood'.

Once everyone was known by a single name but this led to confusion and so an extra name was adopted. Thus a man named John who hailed from Holt might be know as 'John (of) Holt', and William who lived near a wood as 'William (of the) Holt', the additional name in each case eventually becoming hereditary as a surname.

Early records mention Hugo de Holte in Kent in 1185; Simon del Holt in the Warwickshire Pipe Rolls in 1230 and Walter in the Holte in Somerset in 1260.

John Holt who died in 1418 was a noted jurist.

Among early emigrants from England to America was Randall Holt who is recorded in Virginia in 1620. Joseph Holt was a celebrated nineteenth century American statesman.

The arms illustrated may be described heraldically as: Azure, two bars and in chief a cross formy fitchy or; Crest: A squirrel sejant or holding in its paws a hazel branch slipped and fructed all proper; and for Motto: 'Exaltavit Humiles.'

Writers of the past have attributed symbolism to the tintures and charges of heraldry - thus, azure (blue) is said to denote Loyalty; and or (gold), Generosity. Crosses are indicative of some Christian experience, whilst the squirrel which is a woodland creature whose nest is known as a holt is doubtless an allusion to the surname. The motto may be translated as 'He hath exalted the humble'.

[I've not been able to locate a reference to the above description.]

Diana Gale Matthiesen has enlightened us with some email she sent to me on the subject of the HOLT coat of arms. Here's the message she sent: 
From: Diana Gale Matthiesen 
To: 
Subject: HOLT coat of arms
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 12:27:12 -0500


	I'm descended from Nicholas HOLT of Andover.  I have a teeny bit to
	add on the translation of the description coat of arms.

	SHIELD
	"two bars or" - two gold (or yellow) bars
	"in chief" - above, at the top
	"fitchee" - pointed; with regard to a cross, it means the base is pointed
	"of the last" - the cross is also gold/yellow

	CREST
	"a squirrel sejant or" - a gold/yellow squirrel sitting
	"slipped" - a slip cut off a plant or tree
	"fructed" - bearing fruit, in this case, hazelnuts

	Thanks for a great HOLT site!

	Diana

The Family Name Origin: Holt

The surname of HOLT was a locational name 'the dweller at the holt' from residence near a wood or grove. Local surnames, by far the largest group, derived from a place name where the man held land or from the place from which he had come, or where he actually lived. These local surnames were originally preceded by a preposition such as "de", "atte", "by" or "in". The names may derive from a manor held, from working in a religious dwelling or from literally living by a wood or marsh or by a stream. Following the Crusades in Europe a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of noble blood, who realised the prestige and practical advantage it would add to their status. Early records of the name mention Hugo de Holte, 1185 County Kent. Simon del Holt, 1230 Wales. William del Hoult was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Walter atte Holte was documented in County Somerset during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). The acquisition of surnames in Europe during the past eight hundred years has been affected by many factors, including social class and social structure, naming practices in neighbouring cultures, and indigenous cultural tradition. On the whole, the richer and more powerful classes tended to acquire surnames earlier than the working classes and the poor, while surnames were quicker to catch on in urban areas than in more sparsely populated rural areas. These facts suggest that the origin of surnames is associated with the emergence of bureaucracies. As long as land tenure, military service, and fealty were matters of direct relationship between a lord and his vassals, the need did not arise for fixed distinguishing epithets to mark out one carl from another. But as societies became more complex, and as such matters as the management of tenure and in particular the collection of taxes were delegated to special functionaries, it became imperative to have a more complex system of nomenclature to distinguish one individual from another reliably and unambiguously. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884.

Copyright HPS Insignia (Best Books) 1997.

For information regarding the right to bear arms the official bodies are as follows: England and Wales the College of Arms, Office in Waiting in London. The Lord Lion King of Arms in Scotland, In Ireland, The Chief Herald.

No genealogical reference is implied or intended in this document. Arms supplied herein are purely in association to the surname given.

© This document are design is the property of H.P.S. Insignia, Epsom, Surrey, England.

(More notes from the webmaster: various designs and coat-of-arms-looking decorations highlighted the above original document. However, none of these mentioned designs have anything to do with the Holt Coat of Arms.)

Other sundry Holt-related information.

Please let me know if you have any additions or corrections!

From "A Genealogical History of the Holt Family in the United States: More Particularly The Decendents of Nicholas Holt of Newbury and Andover, Mass., 1634-1644, and of William Holt of New Haven, Conn." by Daniel S. Durrie, Albany, 1864:

A History of the name Holt

"The name Holt is one of ancient origin, and is defined by Halliwell as "a grove, or small forest." On the South Downs of England, generally if not always, it is a small hanging wood. Lower says "a copse, a wood, corresponding with the German holz." Another authority defines it "a peaked hill covered with wood." Thus in Tuberville's Songs and Sonnets, occurs the following:

"Ye that frequent the hilles
And highest holtes of all,
Assist me with your skilful quilles
And listen when I call."

"The name of Holt is applied to a number of towns and parishes in England. Thus: Holt, a market town and parish in the county of Norfolk, having an ancient church, a shire hall, a work house and grammar school founded by Sir J. Gresham in 1654, an excellent library and a scholarship and fellowship at Sidney college, Cambridge. Holt, a parilmentary and municipal borough of North Wales, county of Denbigh. Also parishes in counties of Worcester, Leicester, Dorset, and Wilts. It is also the name of an island in the Pacific ocean in the Low archipelago.

"According to Dugdale, Burke, and other writers on English genealogy, there appears to have been two prominent families of this name: known as the Aston family of Holtes of Warwickshire, whose estates were situated near Birmingham, and the Grizzlehurst family, of Lancaster. Of this last family, the most notable person was Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. And of the former family, Sir Charles Holte, a personal friend of King Charles I, who built the elegant mansion known as Aston Hall, at which place he entertained the king after the disasterous battle of Edge Hill.

"Sir John Holt died at his seat at Redgrave (the former residence of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Seals to Queen Elizabeth) without issue, leaving a large estate to his heirs. On the 5th March, 1745, the will and codicils left unadministered by her late majesty's solicitor, administration was granted to Thomas Thurston, Esq., the lawful attorney of Rowland Holt, great-grand-nephew and heir-at-law of Sir John Holt. Mr. Thurston died in 1762, and the administration ceased and expired.

"This estate, which as been estimated by some parties at 13 millions of pounds sterling, is still unsettled, awaiting proofs of heirship.

"The Andover family of Holt in the United States, of which Nicholas Holt was the head, have the impression very generally their ancestor was the legal heir to this estate, and as a consequence, efforts were made some years since, by Stephen Holt, of New York (the proprietor of the large hotel known by his name on the corner of Pearl and Fulton Streets) in the English courts to procure a judgement in his favor for himself and other descendants of Nicholas Holt, in which endeavor he was unsuccessful. Mr. Holt died shortly thereafter, being fully impressed that the estate would ultimately come into possession of his relatives. Another effort is soon to be made by Mr. S. Holt's family for the same object.

"It would be a source of satisfaction, if the question could be definitely settled as to the ancestors of Nicholas Holt of Andover and of William Holt of New Haven, and particularly if it could be ascertained that this large estate would enure to their benefit. But this question is at present unsettled, and may always continue so. The compiler of this work, while engaged in collecting information of the descendants of these two persons - the heads of such a large posterity - was not indifferent to that part of the genealogy connecting them with the English families. And having had the advantage of abstracts from the records in the British Museum, and other record depositories, collected by Columbus Smith, Esq., of Vermont, a gentleman who has made it his business to examine into and prosecute claims of American parties in England, in his humble opinion, it is almost an impossibility to connect the American and English familes; the lapse of time proving an insuperable barrier.

"In making this statement the write is aware that he differs from the views entertained (as before stated) by a large number of the family; but nothing is to be gained by assuming for facts, what cannot be well documented. - D.S.D. 1864"

From Holt-Bennett Family History, Compiled by Margaret Abigail Holt Early, Copyright © 1974, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, West Virginia 26287.

Origin of the Name Holt in England

"According to genealogists Guerano and Albert Seddens, the name Holt was first recorded in the form of Hugo de Holte, who is listed in Kent in the year 1185. Walter in the Holte, Simon del Holte and Hugo atte Holt all appear in thirteenth-century records.

"At that time, holt was a commonly used word for wood or copse. From another source the word referred specifically to a clearing in the woods in which hunting lodges were built, and relates that the name may have been chosen by those who owned these lodges. This would likely indicate some connection to sportsmanship.

"Returning to Seddens, Holt is also the name of towns in several parts of England, including Leicester, Norfoll, and Dorset. Some families probably took their name from these locales. A number of Holt families are listed in the records. Some of them held estates in Aston, Edington, London, and other places."

The Earliest Holts in America

"Passenger ship records were scanty in the early days of this country, but we find a list of Virginia residents that includes a Randall Holt. The record notes that he came from England on the ship George, 1620-21, placing him among the first settlers of the Virginia Colony. London ship records of 1635 show two other Holts who sailed from England that year. These men were all less than twenty-one years old. American Genealogist, 1961, volume 7, pages 69 to 94, has the following: Randall Holt, born about 1606-7, and immigrant to Virginia on the ship George, 1620-21, as a apprentice to Doctor John Pott, subsequently Governor of Virginia. An entry in the Record Society for Lancashire and Chesshire raises the possibility that Randall was a relative of Doctor Pott's."

From the New Dictionary of American Family Names by Elsdon C. Smith, Harper and Row Publishers, NY, Copyright © 1956, 1973.
ISBN 0060139331:

Holt, Holte, Holts (English):

Holtz, Holz (German):

From A Dictionary of Surnames by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, Copyright © 1988, 1992.
ISBN 0-19-211592-8:

Holt

Holst

Holtham

Holton

Holtum

Holzapfel

From Ancestry Magazine, "Anatomy of a Surname", July/August 1997, p. 38: "Place names were often taken as a surname. ... More than half the English surnames used today derive from geographic descriptions, such as Churchill. Various suffixes which indicate a topographical feature are lee (meadow), bank, don (town), field, house, and thorp (village)."
Phil Holt tells me on 17-Aug-1997: "I recall from an Old English course a reference to the Holt name as part of an exercise to translate an inscription from some object. I can't recall the book now. I can't recall what kind of tool had this inscription, but it said something to the effect that the tool belong to "Holt's son," and it dated from well before 1066--800 or 900, I think. We have, evidently, been around for a very long time." [I found the reference: Gallehus Horns -- ]
James Walker emails me on 8-Sep-1997: "Not wishing to cast aspersions on your family name but if you know the story*** (see below) about Sir John Holt, the alleged sorcery, and the Greek charm, can you add anything? I'm particularly interested in knowing what was the outcome of the trial."
"***Times do not seem to change people greatly. Alfred Bester recounted the story of Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice of England in the early 1700s. As an impoverished student, he had swindled a week's free lodgings out of his landlady by pretending to cure her daughter of a fever by tieing a few words scribbled in Greek on a parchment to her waist. Decades later, he presided over one of the last witchcraft trials in the country. An old woman was accused of sorcery, by professing to cure agues by the application of a writen charm to the patient's body. When Holt saw the charm, he recognised it as the one he had written as a student.***"
The information on this page has been gathered over the years by cipherman@juno.com. Please send corrections/addition. Please note: It is not possible for me to answer all e-mail questions regarding this web site, the Holt surname or your personal family history research issues. Please consider joining the Holt-related email list and/or perhaps contributing information to this site. Any feedback on improving this site is appreciated.