Hollister

The story

1. Old French · derived fromholier“adulterer, lecher”
2. English todayHollister

The surname is a feminine derivative of Hollier, itself from Old French holier (“adulterer, lecher”), in this case extended to refer to a female brothel-keeper, (i.e. a madam). The originally feminine occupational suffix -ster has given rise to many such personal names which today might instead be either masculine or ungendered altogether. For example, from masculine dyer, came both formerly feminine variants Dyster and Dexter; from masculine weaver/webber, came the formerly feminine Webster, among others.

Words from the same roots