Find out how popular the last name Haigh is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Haigh.

Haigh, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Haigh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Haigh in America

Haigh is the 11534th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Haigh surname appeared 2,727 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Haigh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Haigh to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Haigh

The surname Haigh is of English origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word 'haga', meaning an enclosure or hedge, suggesting that the name may have been originally used to describe someone who lived near a hedged or enclosed area.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Haigh can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Haia' in Lancashire. This entry likely refers to a place name rather than a personal name.

In the 13th century, the name is documented as 'de Hagh' in Yorkshire, indicating a connection to a specific location. This form of the name, with the prefix 'de', meaning 'from', was common during the Norman period.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Haigh was John de Haigh, who was recorded in the Wakefield Court Rolls of 1275. He was likely from the town of Haigh in Lancashire, which was also mentioned in the Domesday Book.

In the 14th century, the name appeared as 'Heigh' and 'Heygh' in various records, reflecting the evolution of spelling over time. During this period, a notable figure was Sir John Haigh, a member of the English gentry who lived in Yorkshire in the late 1300s.

The 16th century saw the emergence of the more modern spelling 'Haigh'. One prominent individual from this time was Ebenezer Haigh (1559-1638), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Yorkshire.

In the 17th century, the name was well-established in Lancashire and Yorkshire. A notable figure was John Haigh (1628-1701), a wealthy industrialist and landowner who owned several mills in the Haigh area of Lancashire.

The 18th century brought further recognition to the name, with Edward Haigh (1720-1785), a prominent lawyer and judge from Yorkshire, and Samuel Haigh (1767-1831), a renowned botanist and naturalist from Lancashire.

Throughout the 19th century, the Haigh family continued to be influential in various fields, with individuals such as James Haigh (1815-1892), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Yorkshire, and Mary Haigh (1845-1918), a pioneering educator and women's rights advocate from Lancashire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Haigh

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Haigh.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Haigh was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Haigh has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Haigh was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Haigh, please contact us.

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