Incorporated in 1746 by Governor Benning Wentworth, Hollis takes its name from a very old English family. Governor Wentworth's ancestor, Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Strafford, was married to Arabella Holles, daughter of John Holles, Earl of Clare. Hollis was first called West Dunstable, or Nittisset, which at one time was part of Groton, Massachusetts, and is now Nashua. A 2006 real estate survey has estimated the population of Hollis, New Hampshire at 7,740.