Holley is an English surname. It is either locational, ultimately derived an Old English hol lēah "[dwelling by] the clearing by the hollow", or descriptive, from hol-ēage "hollow-eyed". A masculine given name Hollie was derived from the surname, recorded in the United States for the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Notable people with the surname include:
Addison Holley, actress
Alexander H. Holley, a Governor of Connecticut
Alexander Lyman Holley, mechanical engineer
Charles Hardin Holley, real name of singer Buddy Holly
George Holley (1885–1942), England international footballer
Horace Holley (1781-1827), Unitarian minister and president of Transylvania University
Horace Holley (1887-1960), prominent follower of the Bahá'í Faith
James W. Holley, III, politician
Kerrie Holley, software architect
Lonnie Holley, artist
Martin Holley, Roman Catholic prelate
Marietta Holley, humourist
Michael Holley, sports commentator
Myron Holley (1779–1841), NY politician
Orville L. Holley (1791–1861), NYS Surveyor General 1838-1842
Robert W. Holley, biochemist
Sam Holley, Baseball umpire
