How common is the surname Higgins?

79,803 people in the United States had the surname Higgins in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,869 Americans. It ranked 400th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Higgins?

Mary Higgins Clark, American author of suspense novels (1927–2020), followed by John Michael Higgins.

Where is the surname Higgins most common?

Wikidata records people named Higgins in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Higgins?

Higgins is /ˈhɪɡɪnz/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Higgins getting more or less common?

More common. 78,107 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 79,803 in 2010, up 2.2%.

Is Higgins also a first name?

Yes. Higgins is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Higgins

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 79,803 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈhɪɡɪnz/ 2 syllables Soundex H252

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Higgins is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

An anglicised version of Irish Ó hUiginn (“descendant of a Viking”).

Higgins is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 79,803 people named Higgins in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,869 Americans. That is up 2.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 78,107.

#400

rank among US surnames

79,803

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.2%

change since 2000 (was #365)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#391	Chang	81,939	3,768
#392	Klein	81,471	3,790
#393	Salinas	81,156	3,804
#394	Fuentes	81,006	3,811
#395	Baldwin	80,742	3,824
#396	Daniel	80,526	3,834
#397	Simon	80,460	3,837

Who is named Higgins

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Higgins identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Higginss

33 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Mary Higgins Clark
American author of suspense novels (1927–2020)
John Michael Higgins
American actor and comedian, born 1963
Kate Higgins
American voice actress, born 1969
Colin Higgins
American film director and screenwriter, born in New Caledonia, 1941–1988
Missy Higgins
Australian singer and songwriter, born 1983
Clare Higgins
British actress, born 1955
Cory Higgins
American basketball player (born 1989)
Marguerite Higgins
American journalist (1920–1966)
Eliot Higgins
British citizen journalist and former blogger, born 1979
Billy Higgins
American jazz drummer (1936–2001)
Clay Higgins
American politician and reserve law enforcement officer, born 1961
Michael Higgins
American actor (1920-2008)

Notable Higginss come mostly from the United States (23), the United Kingdom (5) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Higgin
Higgans
Higgens

Surnames that sound like Higgins

Higgins has the Soundex code H252, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H252.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Higgins come from?: An anglicised version of Irish Ó hUiginn (“descendant of a Viking”).
How common is the surname Higgins?: 79,803 people in the United States had the surname Higgins in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,869 Americans. It ranked 400th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Higgins?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Higgins identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Higgins?: Mary Higgins Clark, American author of suspense novels (1927–2020), followed by John Michael Higgins.
Where is the surname Higgins most common?: Wikidata records people named Higgins in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Higgins?: Higgins is /ˈhɪɡɪnz/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Higgins?: Higgins is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Higgins getting more or less common?: More common. 78,107 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 79,803 in 2010, up 2.2%.
What are other spellings of Higgins?: Higgin, Higgans and Higgens.
Is Higgins also a first name?: Yes. Higgins is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.