2000
#3,275
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,026
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.72
Uncommon Last name
Higgs
Derived from a place name meaning "high" or referring to a person from such a place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,306 Americans carry the last name Higgs. That puts it at #3,531 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,316 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Higgs 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 Higgs with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,316
Census rank
#3,531
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,859 bearers of the surname Higgs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3531st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Higgs, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Higgs
The surname Higgs is of English origin and is derived from the medieval given name Higgs, a pet form of Hugh. The name Hugh ultimately comes from the Germanic elements "hug" meaning heart, mind, or soul.
The earliest recorded use of the surname Higgs dates back to the late 12th century in various counties across England, particularly in Yorkshire and Essex. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Higges, who was recorded in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1285.
The Higgs surname is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings such as Higges, Higgis, and Hygges, reflecting the lack of standardized spelling at the time.
In the 14th century, the Higgs family was well-established in the village of Berkeswell, Warwickshire. This is evident from the records of the Warwickshire Feet of Fines, which mention several individuals with the surname Higgs in connection with land transactions.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir William Higgs (c. 1440-1508), a wealthy merchant and shipowner from Bristol, England. He was a prominent figure in the city and served as its mayor in 1499.
Another famous Higgs was John Higgs (c. 1585-1659), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Rector of Chalderton, Wiltshire, and was a fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.
In the 18th century, James Higgs (1736-1793) was a renowned English engraver and sculptor known for his intricate works in ivory and boxwood.
The Higgs surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Higgs Hole in Gloucestershire and Higgs Farm in Kent, which may have influenced the spelling and distribution of the name.
One of the most famous bearers of the Higgs surname in modern times is Peter Higgs (born 1929), the British theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 for his prediction of the existence of the Higgs boson particle.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Higgs
Among Census respondents with the surname Higgs, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Higgs 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 Higgs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.0% · 6,608
- Black or African American24.5% · 2,413
- Two or more races4.5% · 441
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 314
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 30
Timeline
Historical Census data for Higgs
Higgs 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
#3,458
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,333
+307 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 3.50
Rank movement Down 183 places
2020
#3,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,859
-474 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 3.30
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,275 | 10,026 | 3.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,458 | 10,333 | 3.50 | +307 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 183 places |
| 2020 | #3,531 | 9,859 | 3.30 | -474 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 73 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 Higgs 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 | #3,458 | #3,531 | -2.1% |
| Count | 10,333 | 9,859 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.50 | 3.30 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Higgs bearers went from 10,333 to 9,859 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,458 to #3,531.
FAQ
Higgs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Higgs?
Name Census estimates that about 11,306 living Americans carry the surname Higgs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,316 residents.
How common is Higgs?
Higgs ranks #3,531 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,859 people with the surname Higgs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,306), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Higgs.
Has Higgs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Higgs went from 10,333 recorded bearers to 9,859. That is a decrease of 474 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,458 to #3,531.
What does the Census say about the background of Higgs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Higgs, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Higgs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.0% (6,608 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Higgs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.0%), Black (24.5%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Higgs (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 Higgs mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "high" or referring to a person from such a place. 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 Higgs (3.30 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 many Americans have the surname Higgs?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.