Holden

English

"hollow valley"

Holden Origin and Meaning

The name Holden is a boy's name of English origin meaning "hollow valley".

Holden is a classic case of a name that jumped out of a book and onto birth certificates--though it took quite a while. Parents who loved J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye are flocking to the name of its hero, Holden Caulfield -- not coincidentally in tune with the Hudson-Hayden-Colton field of names.

(Trivia note: Salinger supposedly came up with the name while looking at a movie poster promoting a film starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield, though other sources say he was named after Salinger's friend Holden Bowler.) Another impetus was provided by a soap opera character introduced in 1985.

Among the celebs who have chosen Holden are Brendan Fraser and Mira Sorvino.

In Australia, only a car-lover would choose this name, which is inextricably linked with the car-brand.

Holden Rank in US Top 1000

# 286 in the US

Holden Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 207 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Holden

• 286 US 2023
• 207 Nameberry 2025
• 175 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Holden

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Holden.

• Rhett
• Reid
• Emerson
• Beckett
• Weston
• Hayes
• Brooks
• Cohen
• Bennett
• Nolan
• Tate
• Reed
• Lincoln
• Griffin
• Flynn
• Bodie
• Beckham
• Declan
• Wyatt
• Sawyer

Famous People Named Holden

• Holden Bowler American athlete, singer and businessman
• Holden Furber American historian
• Holden Chester Richardson U.S. Navy aviator
• Holden Álvaro Roberto Angolan activist and politician
• (Herbert) Holden Thorp American chemist
• Holden John Seguso (b. 1988) son of tennis players Robert and Carling Bassett Seguso
• Holden Richard Schroder (b. 1992) son of actor Rick Schroder
• Holden John Dorough (b. 2003) son of singer Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys
• Holden Fletcher Fraser (b. 2004) son of actor Brendan Fraser
• Holden Paul Terry Backus (b. 2009) son of actors Mira Sorvino and Christopher Backus
• Holden Everett Ladwig (b. 2009) son of pair skater Mark Ladwig
• Holden Robert Jahangiri (b. 2013) son of actress Kate Levering and businessman Reza Jahangiri
• Jack Holden Marsden (b. 2001) son of actor James Marsden
• Finnigan Holden McCormack (b. 2002) son of actor Eric McCormack and Janet Holden

The name Holden in Pop Culture

• Holden Caulfield main character in J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye"
• Holden character in James Patterson's Maximum Ride
• Holden McNeil character in "Chasing Amy"
• Holden Snyder character on American soap opera "As the World Turns"
• Holden Strauss character in the TV series "Pretty Little Liars"
• Holden Spence from the movie "Everyone Says I Love You"
• Holden Maxwell main male character in Kristen Ashley's The Gamble
• Holden Messenger character in Kiera Cass's "The Heir"
• Holden Dippledorf character in DisneyChannel's "Liv and Maddie"
• Holden Matthews character on Freeform's "Beyond"
• Holden Carver main character in the DC/Wildstorm Sleeper comics
• Holden Australian automaker
• Thomas "Holden" Worther character in the movie "The Good Girl"
• Holden Radcliffe character in the Marvel TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
• Holden character in American Horror Story season 5
• Holden Ford character in the Netflix series "Mindhunter"
• Holden Reid Barclay main male character in Scarlett Avery’s book “Bad Boy SEALs”.