The Hicks surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 158,320 people carried this name — #170 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,860 people counted. That is up 3% from 153,618 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Hicks surname

A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Hick, a medieval diminutive of Richard.

From Hick + -s.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hicks» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Richard’.

An early record he cites: Johanna Hickson, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Hick, Hicks, Hickey and Hickson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 381 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 10 births for the Hicks name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 5
Leinster 3
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 37 people named Hicks.

Most of them — 21 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 21
Paris 5
Yvelines 4
Pas-de-Calais 3
Alpes-Maritimes 1
Gironde 1
Seine-Maritime 1
French Guiana 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

30 people named Hicks live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 12
Aargau 4
Geneva 4
Vaud 4
Thurgau 3
Valais 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

49 people named Hicks is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 49

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Hicks was found among the farmers of 8 counties.

It was most frequent in Cornwall: 71 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 141. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Cornwall 71
Essex 21
Somerset 20
Durham 16
Berkshire 15
Suffolk 14
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 10
Devon 7

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Hicks was recorded 15 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1427th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 17. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

355 families named Hicks, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,813 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 71
New York 69
Pennsylvania 44
Massachusetts 38
Virginia 35
Maryland 24
South Carolina 20
Rhode Island 17
Vermont 13
New Hampshire 9
Connecticut 8
Maine 7

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 245 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hicks in American newspapers,
1892–1912.

Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Hicks
The Colfax Chronicle 1912-08-31
Newspaper page from The Progress carrying the name Hicks
The Progress 1892-07-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 886,579 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hicks in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

136,132 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hicks. The most, 25,986, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 39,743
Victoria 33,212
Western Australia 19,340
Queensland 18,876
South Australia 17,220
Tasmania 6,262
ACT (Canberra) 1,161
Northern Territory 52

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hicks.

Who carried it

People named Hicks,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet
    Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet 1596–1680 · politician
  • Elias Hicks
    Elias Hicks 1748–1830 · writer
  • Edward Hicks
    Edward Hicks 1780–1849 · painter
  • Thomas Holliday Hicks
    Thomas Holliday Hicks 1798–1865 · lawyer
  • John Braxton Hicks
    John Braxton Hicks 1823–1897 · physician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet: The original uploader was Anlace at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5); John Braxton Hicks: G. Jerrard, CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 229 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hicks,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States11,237 records

11,237 records of the Hicks name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 5,226
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 2,307
  • Other U.S. records 3,704
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Michael Eugene Hicks

    Born 1949; from San Leandro, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Clifford I. Hicks

    Born 1919 in New Mexico. Enlisted 1943 at Los Angeles, California; aircraft worker. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Arizona.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rose Hicks

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 45; nurse. From Liverpool, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 11,237 records for Hicks in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia3,078 records

3,078 records of the Hicks name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,590
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 599
  • Other Australian records 889
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Ann Hicks

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Aurora, sailing from London in 1851. Native of Devon. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 31.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Hicks

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Earl Grey, sailing from Plymouth in 1842. Native of Walcot, Somerset. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Louisa Hicks

    Died 1890 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 66. Will registered in Tasmania in 1890.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,078 records for Hicks in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada845 records

845 records of the Hicks name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 521
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 80
  • Other Canadian records 244
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Thomas Hicks

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Ann, bound for Port Roseway, aged 15.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robt Hicks

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Prussian, bound for Brockville, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Murray K. Hicks

    Buried in 1982 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 25.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 845 records for Hicks in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom109 records

109 records of the Hicks name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 86
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 21
  • Other British records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Hicks

    Died 1956, aged 78; buried at Drymen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Hicks

    Buried in 1820 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 28.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Richard Hicks

    Will proved in 1927; of Cwmgorse.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 109 records for Hicks in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand47 records

47 records of the Hicks name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 28
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 16
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Hicks

    Died 1902, aged 75; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Kenneth Hicks

    Buried in 1894 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 61.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Goodier Percival Hicks

    Died 1935; buried at Kaiapoi Anglican Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 47 records for Hicks in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France14 records

14 records of the Hicks name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Barbara Elisabeth Hicks

    Born 1904 in Paris; died 1976 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert Allan Hicks

    Born 1925 in Garches; died 1978 in Chanteloup-les-Vignes (Yvelines).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 14 records for Hicks in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany10 records

10 records of the Hicks name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hubert Hicks

    Born 1886; from Cöln a. Rh. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 4 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Hicks

    From Holdhausen, Düsseldorf. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 28 September 1915 (Infantry Regiment No. 67).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 10 records for Hicks in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands8 records

8 records of the Hicks name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 4
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jack Brindley Hicks

    Married in 1947 in Voorst; soldier.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anna Franziska Josephine Hicks

    Married in 1916 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 8 records for Hicks in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hicks.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hicks is.
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