Show ContentsHiggs History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Higgs came from Richard which had several diminutive forms in the Middle Ages, including: Rick, Dick, Hick, and Hegge. 1 The name was introduced into England by the Normans after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Early Origins of the Higgs family

The surname Higgs was first found in Norfolk where Richard Higge was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 2

Early History of the Higgs family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Higgs research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1589, 1606, 1610, 1638 and 1659 are included under the topic Early Higgs History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Higgs 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 Higgs family name include Higgs, Higges, Higg, Higge and others.

Early Notables of the Higgs family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Griffin or Griffith Higgs (1589-1659), an English churchman, Dean of Lichfield from 1638...
  • He was born in 1589 at South Stoke, Oxfordshire, and was the second son of Griffith Higgs, yeoman of that place...

Higgs Ranking

In the United States, the name Higgs is the 3,531st most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Higgs is ranked the 976th most popular surname with an estimated 7,143 people with that name. 4


Higgs 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 Higgs surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Higgs Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John and Rachel Higgs, who settled in Virginia in 1654
  • Thomas and Anne Higgs, who settled in Nevis in 1663
  • Henry Higgs, who arrived in Maryland in 1668 5
  • John Higgs, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1693 5
  • Frans Higgs, who landed in Virginia in 1699 5
Higgs Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Elizabeth Higgs, who settled in Charles Town in 1718
  • William Higgs, who settled in New England in 1769
Higgs Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Higgs, (b. 1826), aged 25, Cornish settler departing from Penzance aboard the ship "Mecca" arriving in the United States on 31 July 1851 6
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Higgs, (b. 1826), aged 25, Cornish miner departing from Penzance aboard the ship "Mecca" arriving in the United States on 31 July 1851 6

Higgs migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Higgs Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Higgs, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 8th April 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
  • Mr. Richard Sweet Higgs, (b. 1806), aged 31 born in St. Neots, Cornwall, UK convicted in Cornwall on 13th August1837, sentenced for life for stealing a mare, transported aboard the ship "York" in 1829 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 8
  • Mr. Richard Sweet Higgs(b. 1796), aged 31, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 13th August 1827, sentenced for life for stealing a mare, transported aboard the ship "York" on 30th April 1829 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 9
  • Mr. Edward Higgs, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
  • Mr. Thomas Higgs, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Higgs migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Higgs Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Ellen Higgs, (b. 1840), aged 22, Cornish settler departing on 18th December 1862 aboard the ship "Huntress" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 21st April 1863 12
  • Mr. James Higgs, (b. 1838), aged 24, Cornish farm labourer departing on 18th December 1862 aboard the ship "Huntress" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 21st April 1863 12
  • Miss Maria Jane Higgs, (b. 1862), aged Infant, Cornish settler departing on 18th December 1862 aboard the ship "Huntress" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 21st April 1863 12
  • Miss Maria Jane Higgs, (b. 1863), aged Infant, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Huntress" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st April 1863 13
  • Mr. James Higgs, (b. 1839), aged 24, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Huntress" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st April 1863 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Higgs (post 1700) +

  • Peter Ware Higgs FRS, FRSE, FKC (1929-2024), English theoretical physicist, emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh and co-winner of the 2004 Wolf Prize in Physics, eponym of the Higgs mechanism and the Higgs boson, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013
  • Robert Higgs (b. 1944), American economic historian and economist
  • Rufus F. Higgs, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1952 14
  • Roxye Ann Higgs, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1948 14
  • Roxann Higgs, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 15th District, 1956; Prohibition Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1956, 1960 14
  • Milton Eugene Higgs (b. 1925), American Republican politician, Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Bay County, 1961-62 14
  • L. Randolph Higgs, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Helsingfors, 1938; U.S. Consul in Stockholm, 1947 14
  • Henry S. Higgs, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Dunmore Town, 1884 14
  • F. Norman Higgs, American politician, Candidate in primary for Circuit Judge in Michigan 18th Circuit, 1953 14
  • Ben Higgs, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Arizona, 2008 14
  • ... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Royal Oak
  • Harold Henry Higgs (d. 1939), British Leading Stoker with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 15


Suggested Readings for the name Higgs +

  • The Higgs Family: Maryland to Missouri by Betty Higgs Bridges.

  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  5. 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)
  6. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/tasmanian_convicts_cornish.pdf
  9. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
  12. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  13. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  15. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html


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