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Higdon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Higdon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Higdon name began with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from the son of Richard. In Old English, patronyms were formed by adding a variety of suffixes to personal names, which changed over time and from place to place. For example, after the Norman Conquest, sunu and sune, which meant son, were the most common patronymic suffixes. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the most common patronymic names included the word filius, which meant son. By the 14th century, the suffix son had replaced these earlier versions. Surnames that were formed with filius or son were more common in the north of England and it was here that the number of individuals without surnames was greatest at this time.

Early Origins of the Higdon family

The surname Higdon was first found in Worcestershire, and after sifting through archival materials, we found one of the first records of the distinguished name was found in Cheshire, where Ranulf Higdon (Higden) (1280-1364) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk of the monastery of St. Werburgh.

His exact birth location is unknown, but believed to be somewhere in the west of England. He is best remembered as the author of Polychronicon, a long chronicle originally written in Latin which became very popular in the 15th century after it was translated into English in the late 14th century.

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times, and in this case, the name was both a forename and a surname. As a forename, Higdon de Slyngesby, et uxor ejus, ad valorem militis, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 1 and as a surname, John Hikedun was found in the Hundredorum Rolls for Worcestershire in 1273. 1 Richard, son of Hykedon was listed in Cheshire in 1313, John Hikedun was found in Assize Rolls for Worcester in 1221 and later Thomas Hykedon. Hekedon was also found in the Subsidy Rolls for Cheshire in 1327. 2

Early History of the Higdon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Higdon research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1364, 1379, 1495, 1505, 1533, 1539, 1640, 1682, 1684, 1688, 1693, 1715 and 1749 are included under the topic Early Higdon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Higdon 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 Higdon family name include Higdon, Higden, Hygdon, Hygden and others.

Early Notables of the Higdon family

Distinguished members of the family include Henry Higden (fl. 1693), English poet and dramatist, a Yorkshireman, "a member of the Middle Temple. He is represented as a man of wit and the companion of all the choice spirits of the town. " 3William Higden (d. 1715) was an English divine, matriculated sizar of King's College, Cambridge, on 5 April 1682 (University Matriculation Register), and graduated B.A. in 1684, M.A. in 1688. " After the revolution he refused to take the oaths, but eventually conformed, and published in defence of his conduct 'A View of the...
Another 94 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Higdon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Higdon Ranking

In the United States, the name Higdon is the 3,311^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Higdon is ranked the 364^th most popular surname with an estimated 127 people with that name. 5

Higdon migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Higdon surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Higdon Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Peter Higdon, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James", bound for Massachusetts 6
John Higdon, who arrived in Virginia in 1658 6

Higdon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliza Higdon, who arrived in Virginia in 1706 6

Higdon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Higdon, aged 26, who landed in New York in 1832 6

Higdon Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Lewis Higdon, aged 47, who landed in America from Somerset, in 1906
Adelaide Higdon, aged 38, who landed in America, in 1910
Paul Higdon, aged 41, who settled in America, in 1912
Thomas B. Higdon, aged 30, who immigrated to the United States, in 1912
Samuel Higdon, aged 21, who landed in America, in 1920
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Higdon migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Higdon Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

George Higdon settled at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland in 1831

Contemporary Notables of the name Higdon (post 1700) +

William Travis Higdon (1924-1986), American Major League Baseball outfielder
Alex Higdon (b. 1966), former American football tight end
Hal Higdon (b. 1931), American writer and runner, winner of four World Masters Championships
Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962), American Grammy Award winning composer of classical music and recipient of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music
Wilford Higdon, prominent American educator
Emerson G Higdon, American manufacturing company executive
William A. Higdon, American politician, Candidate for University of Michigan Board of Regents, 1899 7
Thomas B. Higdon, American politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives from Macon County, 1909-10 7
Greg Higdon, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Kentucky State Senate 1st District 7
Galen Wayne Higdon Jr., American Republican politician, Elected Missouri State House of Representatives 11th District 2012 7
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html