2000
#10,831
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,701
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Haigh
From a place name derived from the Old English words "haga," meaning enclosure, or "hege," meaning hedge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,120 Americans carry the last name Haigh. That puts it at #11,127 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,857 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haigh surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Haigh with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 109,857
Census rank
#11,127
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,721 bearers of the surname Haigh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11127th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haigh, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haigh
Among Census respondents with the surname Haigh, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Haigh bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Haigh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 2,450
- Two or more races3.9% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 19
- Black or African American0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haigh
Haigh appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,727
+26 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 703 places
2020
#11,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,721
-6 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Up 407 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,831 | 2,701 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,534 | 2,727 | 0.92 | +26 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 703 places |
| 2020 | #11,127 | 2,721 | 0.91 | -6 bearers (-0.2%) | Up 407 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Haigh surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,534 | #11,127 | 3.5% |
| Count | 2,727 | 2,721 | -0.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.91 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haigh bearers went from 2,727 to 2,721 (-0.2% change). The surname moved up 407 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,534 to #11,127.
FAQ
Haigh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haigh?
Name Census estimates that about 3,120 living Americans carry the surname Haigh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,857 residents.
How common is Haigh?
Haigh ranks #11,127 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,721 people with the surname Haigh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,120), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Haigh.
Has Haigh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haigh went from 2,727 recorded bearers to 2,721. That is a decrease of 6 (-0.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,534 to #11,127.
What does the Census say about the background of Haigh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haigh, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Haigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (2,450 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haigh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Haigh (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Haigh mean?
From a place name derived from the Old English words "haga," meaning enclosure, or "hege," meaning hedge. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Haigh (0.91 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Haigh?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Haigh at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.