Show ContentsHeflin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic personal name "ó hEamhthaigh." 1 The origins of this ancient personal name are obscure. It is possible that there is a connection to the word "eamh" which denotes a "groaning or exclamation of disgust."

Early Origins of the Heflin family

The surname Heflin was first found in the Athlone region, County Westmeath (Irish: An Iarmhí) in the Irish Midlands, province of Leinster. Later some records of the family were found in Waterford and Cork. 1

Early recorded instances of the name are rare, but there was a bearer recorded as a husbandman of Thisteinagh, in Couty Westmeath in 1601.

Early History of the Heflin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heflin research. The years 1659, 1775 and 1835 are included under the topic Early Heflin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heflin Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Heaphy, O'Heaphy, Heaphey, Heavey, O'Heavy, Heafy, O'Heafey, Heflin and many more.

Early Notables of the Heflin family

Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heflin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heflin Ranking

In the United States, the name Heflin is the 4,112nd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2


United States Heflin migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heflin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Bernardo Heflin, aged 36, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Heflin (post 1700) +

  • Julia Dorn Heflin (1911-2007), American journalist, a theatre producer and a teacher
  • James Milton Heflin Jr. (b. 1943), American retired NASA official, former associate director for technical activities at Johnson Space Center in Houston
  • Bronson Wayne Heflin (b. 1971), American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1996 season
  • Robert Stell Heflin (1815-1901), American politician and legislator for the state of Georgia and Alabama
  • Vince Heflin (b. 1959), American former NFL football wide receiver who played from 1982 to 1986
  • Marta Heflin (1945-2013), American actress
  • Randolph Rutherford Heflin (1918-1999), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 through 1946
  • Joseph Paul "Joe" Heflin (b. 1952), American politician, Texas State Representative (2007-2011)
  • Mary Frances Heflin (1920-1994), American actress
  • James Thomas Heflin (1869-1951), nicknamed "Cotton Tom," American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama (1904-1920), 25th Secretary of State of Alabama (1903-1904)
  • ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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