Hollinger
A surname most likely linked to a place name, especially found in Swiss German regions.
The #6,087 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 54,800 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is most plausibly a locational surname, formed from a place name in the German-speaking world. The excerpted source places Hollinger in Bern, which fits a pattern of surnames taken from a home village or local feature. The ending -inger commonly means “someone from” or “belonging to” a place, so the name likely began as “the person from Holling-” or a similar settlement name.
History
The surname is documented in Swiss contexts, especially Bern, in the source excerpt. Like many Swiss and southern German surnames, it probably spread through migration from a local origin point rather than from a single wide-reaching clan name. Modern bearers are found in the United States as well, reflecting later European emigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The source excerpt specifically associates Hollinger with Bern, showing how many surnames in the region were originally tied to local geography or settlements.
From the historical record
“(St. Gall, or Zurich), Hickenhauser (Hochhauser, in Bern?), Himmelberger (in Appenzell), Himmelreich (in Solothurn), Hoffacker (Hoffegg, in Bern), Hollinger (in Bern), Horn (point of land), Horst (bushes, shrubbery), Hofstetter (several villages in Bern, Zurich, the Palatinate), Hunzicker (in Canton Bern), Ibach…”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names