While many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name Hiky is O hIcidhe, originally derived from the word "iceadh," which refers to a "physician" or "healer."
The surname Hiky was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hiky research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1014, 1641 and 1641 are included under the topic Early Hiky History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Hiky family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Hickey, Hickie, O'Hickey, O'Hickie, Hicky and others.
Notable among the family name at this time was Antony Hickey (d. 1641), Irish theologian who belonged to the Irish family of h-Icidhe, of co. Clare, many members of which practised medicine during some generations. "Hickey projected publications on the history and hagiography of Ireland, for which his acquirements and...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hiky Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A great wave of Irish migration occurred during the 19th century as a direct result of English colonial rule and tight-fisted absentee landlords. Many of these Irish immigrants boarded passenger ships bound for North America. Those who migrated early enough were given land in either British North America or the United States; those who came in the late 19th century were typically employed in industrial centers as laborers. At whatever age they undertook the dangerous passage to North America, those Irish immigrants were essential to the speedy development of the two infant nations to which they arrived, whether they broke and settled land, helped build canals, bridges, and railroads, or produced products for consumer consumption. An examination of immigration and passenger lists has uncovered a large number of immigrants bearing the name Hiky or one of its variants: James Hickey settled in Boston in 1768; Catharine Hickey settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; Daniel, Denis, Edward, James, John, Lawrence, Michael, Patrick, Thomas, and William Hickey arrived in Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1855. In Newfoundland, William Hickey settled in St. John's in 1755.