Higgins is a surname found in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 with several origins.

Origins in England

• From the name Hugh
  Hugh
  -Cypriot/Frankish/French:* Hugh I, Count of Angoulême * Hugh II, Count of Angoulême * Hugh III, Count of Angoulême * Hugh IV, Count of Angoulême...
  
  
• From the name Hig (both the son of Hugh and a diminutive
  Diminutive
  In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
  
   of Hugh)
• From Hicke a diminutive of Richard
  Richard
  The first or given name Richard derives from German, French, and English "ric" and "hard" , therefore it means 'powerful leader' as well as 'King's Court'...
  
  

all then stemmed with the patronymic

Patronymic

A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...

 termination ings; meaning belonging to, or the son of.

Origin in Ireland, the name is an anglicised version of the Gaelic

Goidelic languages

The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...

 family Ó hUiginn

Ó hUiginn

Ó hUiginn is the surname of a Gaelic-Irish family of poets, scribes and historians located in Connacht.Originally part of the southern Uí Néill based in the Irish midlands, they moved west into Connacht...

, who were high status poets between the 14th and 17th centuries. Descendants of this family include Bernardo O'Higgins

Bernardo O'Higgins

Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who, together with José de San Martín, freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile , he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder...

, the first Head of State of Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, and Kevin O'Higgins

Kevin O'Higgins

Kevin Christopher O'Higgins was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice. He was part of early nationalist Sinn Féin, before going on to become a prominent member of Cumann na nGaedheal. O'Higgins initiated the An Garda Síochána police force...

 who was Minister for Justice in the first Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

 government.

In politics

• Brian Higgins
  Brian Higgins
  Brian Higgins is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes the southern two-thirds of Buffalo proper, most of that city's eastern and southern suburbs, and all of Chautauqua County.-Early life, education and career:A native of...
  
  , congressman from New York
• Frank W. Higgins
  Frank W. Higgins
  Frank Wayland Higgins was an American politician. He was a delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention, and a member of the New York State Senate from 1894 to 1902. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1903 to 1904, elected in 1902; and Governor of New York from 1905 to 1906,...
  
  , Governor of New York
• Joe Higgins
  Joe Higgins
  Joe Higgins is an Irish Socialist Party politician. In the 2011 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency, having previously served in that capacity from 1997–2007...
  
  , Socialist Party MEP for Dublin and ex-TD
• John Patrick Higgins
  John Patrick Higgins
  John Patrick Higgins was an officer in the United States Navy, chemist, attorney, and U.S. Representative from Massachusetts....
  
  , U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
• H. B. Higgins
  H. B. Higgins
  Henry Bournes Higgins , Australian politician and judge, always known in his lifetime as H. B. Higgins, was a highly influential figure in Australian politics and law.-Career:...
  
  , Australian politician and judge
• Michael D. Higgins
  Michael D. Higgins
  Michael Daniel Higgins is the ninth and current President of Ireland, having taken office on 11 November 2011 following victory in the 2011 Irish presidential election. Higgins is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, author and broadcaster. Higgins was President of the Labour Party until his...
  
  , President of Ireland
• William L. Higgins
  William L. Higgins
  William Lincoln Higgins, March 8, 1867–, was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut.Born in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, Higgins attended the public schools of Chesterfield and Northampton, Massachusetts, and Deerfield Academy....
  
   (1867–1951), U.S. Representative from Connecticut

In sports

• Alex Higgins
  Alex Higgins
  Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
  
   (1949-2010, nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins"), Northern Irish snooker player
• Christopher Higgins
  Christopher Higgins
  Christopher Higgins is an American professional ice hockey winger with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League . While playing college hockey, he was selected 14th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft...
  
  , American hockey player
• David Higgins
  David Higgins (golf)
  David William Higgins is an Irish professional golfer.Higgins was born in County Cork. He is the son of European Seniors Tour golfer Liam Higgins. He was the country's leading amateur by the time he reached 21...
  
  , Irish golfer
• John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
• Johnnie Lee Higgins
  Johnnie Lee Higgins
  Johnnie Lee Higgins is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round out of the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2007 NFL Draft.Higgins has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles...
  
  , free agent wide receiver in the NFL
• Mark Higgins
  Mark Higgins
  Mark Higgins is British rally driver competing in the British Rally Championship. His current co-driver is Rory Kennedy.-Career:Higgins was born on the Isle of Man...
  
  , British rally car driver
• Pinky Higgins
  Pinky Higgins
  Michael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three teams and served as manager or general manager of the Boston Red Sox during the period of through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Playing...
  
  , baseball player, manager, and scout
• Shaun Higgins
  Shaun Higgins
  Shaun Higgins is an Australian rules footballer for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League. Higgins can play a variety of positions up forward and now has been playing a lot in the midfield. He is now considered one of the Bulldogs most important players and is a key to their future...
  
  , Australian rules footballer
• Roy Higgins
  Roy Higgins
  Roy Henry Higgins MBE is a former Australian jockey who rode in the late 1960s and the 1970s. He grew up in the southern New South Wales town of Deniliquin where he was apprenticed to local horse trainer Jim Watters...
  
  , Australian jockey

In music

• Billy Higgins
  Billy Higgins
  Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
  
   (1936–2001), jazz drummer
• Chris "X-13" Higgins, backup vocalist/guitarist for The Offspring
• Damian Higgins, drum and bass DJ/Producer
• Dick Higgins
  Dick Higgins
  Dick Higgins was a composer, poet, printer, and early Fluxus artist. Higgins was born in Cambridge, England, but raised in the United States in various parts of New England, including Worcester, Massachusetts, Putney, Vermont, and Concord, New Hampshire.Like other Fluxus artists, Higgins studied...
  
   (born 1938), composer, poet and Fluxus artist
• Jon B. Higgins
  Jon B. Higgins
  Jon Borthwick Higgins , also known in India as Higgins Bhagavatar, was an American musician, scholar, and teacher known principally for his rare skill as a non-Indian in the field of Carnatic music...
  
  , Carnatic singer (1939–1984)
• Missy Higgins
  Missy Higgins
  Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White and On a Clear Night , and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in...
  
  , Australian singer
• The Higgins
  The Higgins
  The Higgins are a multi-award-winning Canadian country music group from Delta, British Columbia. The Higgins comprise three siblings: John , Eileen , and Kathleen Higgins . They have charted a total of three singles on the Canadian Country Music charts, two of which were Top 15...
  
  , Canadian band
• Eddie Higgins
  Eddie Higgins
  Edward Haydn Higgins was a jazz pianist, composer and orchestrator. -Biography:Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Higgins initially studied privately with his mother. He started his professional career in Chicago, Illinois, while studying at the Northwestern University School of Music...
  
  , (1932-2009), jazz pianist

In education

• Chris Higgins (academic)
  Chris Higgins (academic)
  Chris Higgins is, since April 2007, the Vice-Chancellor of Durham University. He was previously the director of the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre and Head of Division in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London....
  
  , Vice-Chancellor of Durham University
  Durham University
  The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
  
  
• William Victor Higgins
  William Victor Higgins
  William Victor Higgins was an American painter and teacher, born at Shelbyville, Indiana. He studied at the Art Institute in Chicago and at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In Paris he was a pupil of Robert Henri, René Menard and Lucien Simon, and when he was in Munich he studied with Hans von...
  
  , American painter and teacher
• William Higgins (chemist)
  William Higgins (chemist)
  William Higgins , an Irish chemist, was one of the early proponents of atomic theory. Known mainly for his speculative ideas on chemical combination, William Higgins is popular for the insights his life offers into the emergence of chemistry as a career during the British industrial revolution...
  
  , Irish chemist

In literature

• Tadhg Mór O'Higgins, of sligo, who died in 1315
• Maol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginn
  Maol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginn
  Maol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginn, Irish poet, fl. c. 1400.Ó hÚigínn was a member of a well-known Irish family of bards, based in Connacht...
  
   fl. c. 1400
• Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn
  Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn
  Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn, Irish poet, died 1448.-Life and background:Ó hÚigínn was a member of a well-known Irish family of bards, based in Connacht. His father, Tadhg, died in 1391, while all that is known of his mother is her first name, Aine. He had an elder brother, Fearghal Ruadh O hUiginn, who's...
  
   died 1448
• Sean mac Fergail Óicc Ó hUiccinn, died 1490
• Gilla na Neamh Ó h-Uiginn
  Gilla na Neamh Ó h-Uiginn
  Gilla na Neamh Ó h-Uiginn, Irish poet, died 1349.Gilla na Neamh was member of the Ó hUiginn family of poets and historians, based in Connacht....
  
  
• Tadhg Mór Ó hUiginn
  Tadhg Mór Ó hUiginn
  Tadhg Mór Ó hUiginn, Irish poet.Ó hUiginn was a member of a highly regarded Connacht family of bards. His surviving poems include:* Gach éan mar a adhbha* Slán fat fholcadh-See also:* Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn* Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn...
  
  
• Donnell O'Higgins, died 1501. "Chief Preceptor of the schools of Ireland in poetry".
• Tadhg Dall Ó hUiginn
  Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn
  -Background:One of the most well-known of the late-Gaelic era poets, he was a member of a family of professional poets from north Connacht. He was called dall because he was blind. His mother's name is unknown. His father was Mathghamhain mac Maolhmuire, directly descended from Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn ....
  
  , c. 1550-c.1591, murdered for his satire
  Satire
  Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
  
  s
• Tom O'Higgins
  Tom O'Higgins
  Thomas Francis O'Higgins was an Irish Fine Gael politician, a barrister and a judge.Tom O'Higgins was born in Cork in 1916. He was the son of Thomas F. O'Higgins and the nephew of Kevin O'Higgins...
  
  , 1917-2003, TD
  Teachta Dála
  A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
  
   and former Chief Justice
  Chief Justice
  The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
  
  , Presidential candidate in 1966 and 1973
• Marguerite Higgins
  Marguerite Higgins
  Marguerite Higgins Hall was an American reporter and war correspondent. Higgins covered World War II, the Korean War and the war in Vietnam, and in the process advanced the cause of equal access for female war correspondents.Higgins was born in Hong Kong while her father, Lawrence Higgins, was...
  
   (1920–1966), war correspondent
• Aidan Higgins
  Aidan Higgins
  -Life:His upbringing in a landed Catholic family in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, provided material for his first experimental novel, Langrishe, Go Down...
  
  , born 1927, Irish poet
• Jack Higgins
  Jack Higgins
  Jack Higgins is the principal pseudonym of UK novelist Harry Patterson. Patterson is the author of more than 60 novels. As Higgins, most have been thrillers of various types and, since his breakthrough novel The Eagle Has Landed in 1975, nearly all have been bestsellers...
  
   (born 1929), principal pseudonym of UK novelist Harry Patterson
• George V. Higgins
  George V. Higgins
  George V. Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels. His full name was George Vincent Higgins, but his books were all published as by George V. Higgins. ACtually, his full name was George V...
  
   (1939–1999), attorney and author
• Michael D. Higgins
  Michael D. Higgins
  Michael Daniel Higgins is the ninth and current President of Ireland, having taken office on 11 November 2011 following victory in the 2011 Irish presidential election. Higgins is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, author and broadcaster. Higgins was President of the Labour Party until his...
  
  , born 1941), poet, Mayor of Galway
  Mayor of Galway
  The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Galway – the largest city in the province of Connacht, in the Republic of Ireland. The office was originally established by a...
  
  , TD
  Teachta Dála
  A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
  
   and Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993–97
• Rita Ann Higgins
  Rita Ann Higgins
  -Life:A native of Ballybrit, Galway, Higgins was one of thirteen children in a working-class household. She married in 1973 but following the birth of her second child in 1977, contracted Tuberculosis, forcing her to spend an extended period in a sanatorium,...
  
  , poet and playwright, born 1955

In television

• Bubba Higgins
  Bubba Higgins
  Bubba Higgins is a fictional character in the television situation comedy, Mama's Family. He was played by Allan Kayser.-Character overview:...
  
  , character on the television situation comedy Mama's Family
  Mama's Family
  Mama's Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 22, 1983. It was cancelled in May 1984, but NBC would continue to air reruns until September 1985. In September 1986, Mama's Family returned in first-run syndication, where it aired for an additional four seasons,...
  
  , played by actor Allan Kayser
  Allan Kayser
  Allan J. Kayser II is an American film and TV actor.-Biography:Kayser was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, attending Columbine High School from 1978-1982. In high school, he participated in baseball and wrestling, and was a drummer in several rock bands.Kayser entered acting and moved to...
  
  
• Jonathan Quayle Higgins III
  Jonathan Higgins
  -Bibliography:*Heroes, Monsters & Messiahs, Page 220 by Elizabeth Hirschman - 2000*Harry and Wally's Favorite TV shows, pages 307-307 by Harry Castleman and Walter J...
  
  , television character on Magnum, P.I.
  Magnum, P.I.
  Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
  
  , played by actor John Hillerman
  John Hillerman
  John Benedict Hillerman is an American actor, known for his starring role on the television show Magnum, P.I.-Early life:...
  
  
• Kate Higgins
  Kate Higgins
  Catherine Davis "Kate" Higgins is an American voice actress, singer, and jazz pianist. She was born in Charlottesville, Virginia grew up in Auburn, Alabama, and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is best known as the English voice of Sakura Haruno on the hit anime series Naruto, Talho Yūki from...
  
  , voice actress (known for her roles as Sakura Haruno
  Sakura Haruno
  is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura has become the series' female lead, although she was not immediately intended for the role...
  
   in Naruto
  Naruto
  is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
  
  , C.C. in Code Geass and Saber in Fate/Stay Night
  Fate/stay night
  is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon, which was originally released as an adult game for the PC. An all-ages version of Fate/stay night, titled Fate/stay night Réalta Nua, was released for the PlayStation 2 on April 19, 2007, and features the Japanese voice actors from the anime series...
  
  )
• Paul Higgins
  Paul Higgins (actor)
  Paul Higgins is a Scottish actor. He has appeared onstage in Paul, Black Watch and in the film Complicity....
  
  , British actor
• Steve Higgins
  Steve Higgins
  Steve Higgins is the announcer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He was previously a cast member, writer, and producer for the show The Higgins Boys and Gruber, and he has a long-time association with Saturday Night Live in mostly behind-the-scenes roles as writer and producer. Higgins was...
  
  , comedian, writer and announcer

In business

• Andrew Higgins
  Andrew Higgins
  Andrew Jackson Higgins was the founder and owner of Higgins Industries, the New Orleans-based manufacturer of "Higgins boats" during World War II. General Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying, "Andrew Higgins ... is the man who won the war for us. .....
  
  , founder of Higgins Industries
  Higgins Industries
  Higgins Industries was the company owned by Andrew Higgins based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Higgins is most famous for the design and production of the Higgins boat, an amphibious landing craft referred to as LCVP, which were used extensively in D-Day Invasion of Normandy...
  
   and inventor of the Higgins boat
• David Higgins, Global Chief Technology/Information Officer for The OzForex Group
  OzForex
  OzForex is an online foreign exchange and global payments provider and a strategic investment of , and the . OzForex is part of the OzForex Group which also includes UKForex, CanadianForex, NZForex, ClearFX and Tranzfers....
  
  
• Pattillo Higgins
  Pattillo Higgins
  Pattillo Higgins was a businessman as well as a self-taught geologist. He earned the nickname the "Prophet of Spindletop" for his endeavors in the oil business, which accrued a fortune for many...
  
   (1863–1955), oil pioneer and businessman, known as the "Prophet of Spindletop
  Spindletop
  Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil . The new oil field soon produced...
  
  "

In military service

• John Frederick Andrews Higgins
  John Frederick Andrews Higgins
  Air Marshal Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins KCB, KBE, DSO, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Flying Corps and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century.-RAF career:...
  
  , Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force commander
• Thomas J. Higgins
  Thomas J. Higgins
  Thomas J. Higgins was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who was a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Vicksburg.-Biography:...
  
   (1831–1917), American soldier
• Elmer R. Higgins (1907-1998), United States Army, Colonel
• William R. Higgins
  William R. Higgins
  William Richard "Rich" Higgins was a United States Marine Corps colonel who was captured in 1988 while serving on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was held hostage, tortured and eventually murdered by his captors.-Biography:William Higgins was born in Danville, Kentucky on...
  
  , United States Marine Corps colonel, killed in Lebanon

Other

• Arch Higgins
  Arch Higgins
  Arch Higgins was a soloist with New York City Ballet. He began his study at eight years with Berkeley Ballet Theater with former City Ballet dancer Sally Streets. From 1982 he attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet which he entered full-time on scholarship four years later. He...
  
  , New York City Ballet soloist
• Chester Higgins, Jr.
  Chester Higgins, Jr.
  Chester Higgins, Jr. is an American photographer.Higgins has worked as a New York Times photographer since 1975 and has exhibited in museums throughout the world...
  
  , American photographer
• Edward Higgins
  Edward Higgins
  Edward John Higgins was the third General of The Salvation Army .He was born in Highbridge, Somerset, England. His father became a much revered Commissioner in the Army's ranks, and travelled extensively in the interests of the organisation. His mother died when he was 8 years of age.He became an...
  
   (1864–1947), the 3rd General of the Salvation Army
• Dame Joan Higgins
  Joan Higgins
  Dame Joan Margaret Higgins, DBE is a British academic and educator.Higgins graduated in Social Administration from the University of York in 1971 and has held academic posts at the University of Portsmouth, University of Southampton and University of Manchester Dame Joan Margaret Higgins, DBE is a...
  
  , chair of the NHS Litigation Authority
• Margaret Higgins
  Black Widows of Liverpool
  Catherine Flannigan and Margaret Higgins were Irish sisters who were convicted of poisoning and murdering two people in Liverpool and suspected of more deaths...
  
  , Scottish murderer
• Rosalyn Higgins
  Rosalyn Higgins
  Dame Rosalyn Higgins, DBE, QC is the former President of the International Court of Justice. Higgins was the first female judge to be appointed to the ICJ, and was elected President in 2006. Her term of office expired on 6 February 2009...
  
   (1937–present), President of the International Court of Justice
• Mark Andrew Higgins
  Mark Andrew Higgins (photographer)
  Mark Andrew Higgins is a Boston based photographer who works closely with people in different aspects of photographic practice. Born in 1969 in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine he spent his childhood in rural Maine before graduating from Maine Maritime Academy in 1992...
  
  , Contemporary American Lifestyle Photographer

See also

• O'Higgins
• Higginson
• Huggins