Holstein Family History
Holstein Name Meaning
German: habitational name from the province of Holstein long disputed between Germany and Denmark. This gets its name from holsten the dative plural originally used after a preposition of holst from Middle Low German holt-sate ‘dweller in the woods’ (from Middle Low German holt ‘wood’ + sate sete ‘tenant’). The final syllable has been erroneously altered by analogy with North German Steen ‘stone’ which in South German and standard German has the form Stein.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022