Family name origins & meanings
- English : from Old Norse hǫldr, within the Danelaw (the region of pre-conquest England where Danish rule and custom was dominant) a rank of feudal nobility immediately below that of earl.
- German : nickname from Middle High German holde ‘friend’ or ‘servant’, ‘vassal’.
- German (Höld) : variant of Held ‘hero’ (see Held 1), found chiefly in Bavaria.