2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Heighes
A variant spelling of an English locational surname derived from a place called Hay or Haye.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Heighes. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heighes 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 Heighes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Heighes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heighes, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heighes
The surname HEIGHES is an English habitational name derived from one of the various places called Heighs or Heys in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. It originated in the Middle English era, around the 13th or 14th century. The Old English root of the name is "hege," meaning "hedge," suggesting that the original bearers may have lived near a hedge or enclosed area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, where a John del Heghe is mentioned. This spelling variation, "del Heghe," indicates the name's association with a specific place or location.
In the 16th century, the Heighe family was prominently established in the parish of Rochdale, Lancashire. Records from this time show several members of the family, including Robert Heighe (born around 1520) and James Heighe (born around 1550).
The Domesday Book, a valuable historical record from 1086, does not directly mention the surname HEIGHES or its variants. However, it does list several place names that may have contributed to the development of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the surname HEIGHES throughout history include:
1. John Heighe (c. 1550-1615), an English clergyman and author from Rochdale, Lancashire.
2. Thomas Heighe (c. 1580-1647), an English lawyer and member of the House of Commons, representing Wigan in the Parliament of 1628.
3. William Heighe (c. 1620-1690), an English landowner and prominent citizen of Rochdale, who served as a Justice of the Peace.
4. Elizabeth Heighes (c. 1670-1735), an English Quaker minister and writer from Lancashire.
5. Samuel Heighes (c. 1700-1770), an English merchant and philanthropist from Yorkshire, who funded the construction of several schools and churches in the region.
The surname HEIGHES has evolved over time, with various spelling variations emerging, such as Heigh, Heys, Highe, and Heighs. These variations often reflect local dialects and regional pronunciations of the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heighes
Among Census respondents with the surname Heighes, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Heighes 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 Heighes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino16.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heighes
Heighes 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-5 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,854 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-5 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,985 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 13,854 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 4,985 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 Heighes 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 | #145,220 | #150,205 | -3.4% |
| Count | 114 | 109 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heighes bearers went from 114 to 109 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 4,985 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #150,205.
FAQ
Heighes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heighes?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Heighes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Heighes?
Heighes ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Heighes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Heighes.
Has Heighes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heighes went from 114 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Heighes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heighes, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Heighes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heighes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Hispanic (16.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Heighes (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 Heighes mean?
A variant spelling of an English locational surname derived from a place called Hay or Haye. 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 Heighes (0.04 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 Heighes?
If you just want to know how many people are called Heighes, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.