 Holly is known as an English or Irish surname (variant "Holley") it is either locational, ultimately derived from the Old English "hol lēah" "[dwelling by] the clearing by the hollow", or descriptive, from "hol-ēage" "hollow-eyed".In Ireland, it was also used as a translation of the name Mac Cuilinn, which is derived from "cuileann", the Gaelic name of the holly tree, and by extension sometimes of the similar-sounding McQuillan surname of Ulster.The masculine names "Holly, Hollie" were derived from the surname, but have mostly fallen out of use since the mid 20th century due to the rise in popularity of the feminine name.