How to say it
HOL · den
/ˈhoʊl.dən/
Masculine
Holden
Deep valley
What it means
An English place and surname name, 'deep' or 'hollow valley,' from Old English.
Holden is an English locational surname for someone from a deep, sheltered valley, built from Old English roots for 'hollow' and 'valley.' Its modern life as a first name owes almost everything to Holden Caulfield, the restless narrator of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. That gives it a literary, slightly brooding edge while still fitting the surname-first crowd with Hudson and Camden.
Popularity over time
peaked at #217 in 2018, currently #297 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye is the defining association.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Holden Caulfield the narrator of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
Spelling variants
- Holdyn
- Holdon
Names with the same feeling
See Holden from another angle
By style