Show ContentsHeyen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestry of the name Heyen dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the parish of Heene, which is now part of Worthing in the county of Sussex. The surname Heyen 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 Heyen may also be derived from the personal name Henry.

Early Origins of the Heyen family

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

Early History of the Heyen family

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

Heyen Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Heyen have been found, including Hen, Henn, Henne, Heene, Hene and others.

Early Notables of the Heyen 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 Heyen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Heyen family to Ireland

Some of the Heyen 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 Heyen family

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Heyen, or a variant listed above: 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.


Contemporary Notables of the name Heyen (post 1700) +

  • William Helmuth Heyen (b. 1940), American poet, editor, and literary critic
  • Kevin Heyen, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 2000 [1]


  1. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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