Higgins (surname)

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Higgins is a surname found in England and in Ireland with several origins.^[1]

Origins in England

all then stemmed with the patronymic termination ings; meaning belonging to, or the son of.

Origin in Ireland, the name is an anglicised version of the Gaelic family Ó hUiginn, who were high status poets between the 14th and 17th centuries. Descendants of this family include Bernardo O'Higgins, the first Head of State of Chile, and Kevin O'Higgins who was Minister for Justice in the first Irish Free State government.

In politics

Alex Higgins (1949–2010, nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins"), Northern Irish snooker player
Christopher Higgins, American hockey player
David Higgins, Irish golfer
Garin Higgins, American football coach
Jim Higgins (1897-1964), Scottish boxer of the 1910s, '20s and '30s
John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
Johnnie Lee Higgins, free agent wide receiver in the NFL
Mark Higgins, British rally car driver
Pinky Higgins, baseball player, manager, and scout
Rashard Higgins, American football player
Roy Higgins, Australian jockey
Shaun Higgins, Australian rules footballer
Andrew Higgins, English Rugby Union player

Billy Higgins (1936–2001), jazz drummer
Chris Higgins (musician), also known as "X-13", former The Offspring touring member
Damian Higgins, drum and bass DJ/Producer
Dick Higgins (born 1938), composer, poet and Fluxus artist
Jon B. Higgins, Carnatic singer (1939–1984)
Missy Higgins, Australian singer
The Higgins, Canadian band
Eddie Higgins, (1932–2009), jazz pianist

Aidan Higgins, born 1927, Irish writer
Fiona Higgins, Irish writer
George V. Higgins (1939–1999), attorney and author
Jack Higgins (born 1929), principal pseudonym of UK novelist Harry Patterson
Maol Sheachluinn na n-Uirsgéal Ó hUiginn fl. c. 1400
Marguerite Higgins (1920–1966), war correspondent
Michael D. Higgins, born 1941), poet, Mayor of Galway, TD and Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993–97
Rita Ann Higgins, poet and playwright, born 1955
Sean mac Fergail Óicc Ó hUiccinn, died 1490
Tadg Óg Ó hÚigínn died 1448
Tadhg Dall Ó hUiginn, c. 1550-c.1591, murdered for his satires
Tadhg Mór Ó hUiginn
Tom O'Higgins, 1917–2003, TD and former Chief Justice, Presidential candidate in 1966 and 1973

Bubba Higgins, character on the television situation comedy Mama's Family, played by actor Allan Kayser
Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, television character on Magnum, P.I., played by actor John Hillerman
Clare Higgins, English actress
Kate Higgins, voice actress (known for her roles as Sakura Haruno in Naruto, C.C. in Code Geass and Saber in Fate/Stay Night)
Kenneth Higgins (1919-2008), British cinematographer
Paul Higgins, British actor
Steve Higgins, comedian, writer and announcer

Andrew Higgins, founder of Higgins Industries and inventor of the Higgins boat
Pattillo Higgins (1863–1955), oil pioneer and businessman, known as the "Prophet of Spindletop"

John Frederick Andrews Higgins, Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force commander
Thomas J. Higgins (1831–1917), American soldier
William R. Higgins, United States Marine Corps colonel, killed in Lebanon

↑ Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857.