Heens History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Heens is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the parish of Heene, which is now part of Worthing in the county of Sussex. The surname Heens belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The surname Heens may also be derived from the personal name Henry.

Early Origins of the Heens family

The surname Heens was first found in Sussex, where evidence suggests they held a family seat before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Heens family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heens research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1639, 1673, 1675 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Heens History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heens Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Heens family name include Hen, Henn, Henne, Heene, Hene and others.

Early Notables of the Heens family

Distinguished members of the family include Hugh Henn, page of the bedchamber to James I and Charles I, and later appointed Keeper of the Queen's Garden, Greenwich in 1639; and his son, Henry Hene (or Henn) (died 1708), an English-born judge who became Chief...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heens Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heens family to Ireland

Some of the Heens family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heens family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Heens surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John George Henn, who sailed to America in 1740; John Peter Henn to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1744; Henn family to America in 1763; Barbara, John and Nicholas Hen to Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1764.