An Irish and English surname, the Higgins family name comes from the Gaelic name of O’Huigan. The terms ‘uiging’ and ‘uiginri’ are related to the term Viking. In the English form of Higgins, the term ‘hicke’ is a form of the name Richard.
Spellings variations for Higgins include Higgens, Higginson, Huggins, Higgans, O’Higgins, Higgin and O’Higgin. The Irish form of the Higgins would be Hagan.

Many of the early Irish Higgins lived in the County Sligo in Ireland.
In the 19th century many Higgins families left Ireland to resettle in Australia and the United States.
Within England the Higgins surname is in London, neighboring Kent, then westward into Somerset and Gloucestershire. In the northern regions of England the Higgins surname is mostly in Yorkshire and Lancashire counties. In Scotland, the Higgins family name is in various regions, especially in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire counties.

The Higgins surname within the United States is generally founded in Massachusetts and New York. Additional states are Texas, Illinois, Ohio, California and Michigan.

Famous: Melissa Morrison Higgins (singer and songwriter from Australia), George Higgins (novelist), Pinky Higgins (professional baseball player and manager), David Higgins (professional golfer from Ireland), Jonnie Lee Higgins (professional football player) and Andrew Higgins (founder of Higgins Industries and inventor of the Higgins boat).