Higgins

Variations – O’Higgin, MacHiggin, Higginson, Huggins, McHiggan, McGuigan
Racial Origin – Irish
Source – A given name.

While the family names Higgins and Higginson often come from “Hick” or Hiccon,” old English nicknames for Richard, it is safe to say that in the majority of cases such names are Celtic.  So far as O’Higgin and MacHiggin or McHiggin are concerned there is no reasonable doubt that they are Irish.

The Irish Higgins, like the English, comes from a given name, but not the same one.

The mistake is often made of confusing this name with the name of Keegan, that is, in assuming that it comes from the same given name, Eoghan, through the use of the prefix “mac.”  The argument being that there is a little real difference between MacKegan and MacHiggin.  This argument, however, loses sight of the fact that both of these forms are but English corruptions of the Irish surnames, which are traceable definitely to different sources both by means of spelling and the historical-genealogical records in the Irish language.

The Irish form of the surname is “O’h-Uigin,” or “MacUigan,” the “h” being a necessary insertion after “O” to make it pronounceable.  The family or clan name comes from the given name of “Uigin,” which means “knowledge.”

The form Higginson would appear to be English, but there are many cases on record where it is simply an Anglicized version of the Irish family name.  In Ireland this family name is most common in Westmeath and Galway.