History & Origin of the Name: Holden 10.19.08

The history and origin behind last names are very interesting.

Origin: English
Coat of Arms: Silver with six red allerions, and a red escutcheon in the center.
Crest: A double headed red allerian.
Motto: Nec temere nec timide
Motto Translated: Neither rashly nor timidly.
Source: surnamehistories.com

The name Holden was first used by England’s ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the county of Lancashire, where they held the estate of Holden in the parish of Haslingden.

First found in Lancashire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Holden or a variant[...]: John Holden settled in Virginia in 1637; Edward Holden settled in Jamaica in 1685; Joane Holden settled in Virginia in 1652; Justinian Holden settled in New England in 1634. Source houseofnames.com

The site Public Profiler allows you to search your surname, and it’ll give you statistics like the Top Countries, Regions, Cities, Forenames, along with a very brief Root of the name.

The statistics for my last name are as follows:

Something I think is pretty neat is that in Australia there is an automaker by the name of Holden. It’s a subsidiary of General Motors, which I think is way cool because I am a big fan of GM.

For fun, I’ll include the origins and meanings behind the rest of my name. From what I’ve been told, I’m not named after any past relatives, but because my parents liked the names.

Matthew – Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: Gift of God
Shane – Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: God is gracious
Source: babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com

I’ve included the sources that I’ve used for anyone that would like to look up their names