2000
#2,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,236
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.91
Uncommon Last name
High
An English surname derived from a topographic name for someone who lived on or near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,632 Americans carry the last name High. That puts it at #2,591 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,926 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the High 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 High with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,926
Census rank
#2,591
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,632 bearers of the surname High in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2591st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname High, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of High
The surname "High" is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is a locational surname, derived from the Old English words "hēah" or "hēh," meaning "high" or "tall." This name was likely given to someone who lived on a hill or in an elevated area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "High" can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1199, which mention a person named Robert de la Heye. This early spelling variation, "de la Heye," reflects the Norman-French influence on English surnames during that period.
In the 13th century, the surname appears in various forms, such as "Atte Highe" and "de la Hye," indicating that it was primarily used to identify someone living near a high place or elevated location. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 mention a Johannes de la Hye in Buckinghamshire.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not contain the surname "High" itself, but it does include references to places with similar names, such as "Heia" in Shropshire and "Hege" in Bedfordshire, which may have been the ancestral homes of some early bearers of the name.
One notable figure with the surname "High" was Thomas High (c. 1506-1559), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I for denying the spiritual supremacy of the monarch over the Church.
Another historically significant bearer of the name was Jeremiah High (1630-1703), an English Puritan minister and a founder of the town of High Hill, Connecticut, in the United States.
In the realm of literature, Mary High (1804-1868) was an English author and editor known for her works on education and moral instruction for children.
Sir Cecil Henry Erskine High (1861-1936) was a British diplomat and administrator who served as the Governor of the Federated Malay States from 1912 to 1917.
The artist Cecil High (1899-1975), known for his landscape paintings and depictions of rural life in England, was another noteworthy individual with this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for High
Among Census respondents with the surname High, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how High 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 High surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.5% · 9,334
- Black or African American22.8% · 3,114
- Two or more races4.2% · 578
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 448
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 82
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 76
Timeline
Historical Census data for High
High 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
#2,585
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,961
+725 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 4.73
Rank movement Down 85 places
2020
#2,591
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,632
-329 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 4.56
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,500 | 13,236 | 4.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,585 | 13,961 | 4.73 | +725 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 85 places |
| 2020 | #2,591 | 13,632 | 4.56 | -329 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 6 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 High 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 | #2,585 | #2,591 | -0.2% |
| Count | 13,961 | 13,632 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 4.73 | 4.56 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of High bearers went from 13,961 to 13,632 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,585 to #2,591.
FAQ
High surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname High?
Name Census estimates that about 15,632 living Americans carry the surname High. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,926 residents.
How common is High?
High ranks #2,591 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,632 people with the surname High. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,632), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname High.
Has High become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname High went from 13,961 recorded bearers to 13,632. That is a decrease of 329 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,585 to #2,591.
What does the Census say about the background of High?
Among Census respondents with the surname High, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 High in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.5% (9,334 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
High appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.5%), Black (22.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 High (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 High mean?
An English surname derived from a topographic name for someone who lived on or near a hill. 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 High (4.56 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 High?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.