Show ContentsHeginbotham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Heginbotham comes from when the family resided at Higginbottom in the neighbourhood of Marple and Macclesfield, in East Cheshire. [1]

Another source postulates that Oakenbottom in Bolton-le-Moors, Lancashire was the the original homestead of the family and that it was "probably influenced by the dialect word hickin or higgin, the mountain ash." [2]

Early Origins of the Heginbotham family

The surname Heginbotham was first found in Lancashire where Alexander de Akinbothun was recorded in the Assize Rolls for 1246. [2]

As a very rare name, the next entry for the family was over 300 hundred years later in the Prestbury Church, Cheshire where John Hyggynbothom was listed in 1563. The source Earwaker's East Cheshire included an entry for Nicholas Hichinbothome, of Marple gentleman in 1579 and the Lancashire, and Cheshire Record Society notes Alice Higginbotham, of Marple, 1595. [1]

Early History of the Heginbotham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heginbotham research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1762 and 1844 are included under the topic Early Heginbotham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heginbotham Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Heginbotham include Higginbottom, Higginbotham, Hickenbottom, Hickinbottom, Higgenbottom, Higginbothem, Higinbotham, Higinbothem and many more.

Early Notables of the Heginbotham family

Notables of the family at this time include Abel Joshua Higginbotham, English stowaway who was ejected from a ship at Madras port after he was discovered on board. After a brief internship working as a librarian for a Weslyan Book...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heginbotham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heginbotham family

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: John Higginbotham settled with his wife and servants in Barbados in 1680; Richard Higginbottom settled in Virginia in 1726; Thomas Higginbottom settled in New England in 1774.


Contemporary Notables of the name Heginbotham (post 1700) +

  • William Moseley Heginbotham, English member of the University of Oxford in 1798 from Manchester, Lancashire
  • Stafford Heginbotham (1933-1995), British businessman, Chairman of Bradford City Football Club


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


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