The Higley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,298 people carried this name — #7,723 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 68,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,154 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

In the first U.S. census, 1790

25 families named Higley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 140 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Connecticut 18
Vermont 4
New York 2
Massachusetts 1

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

Higley in American newspapers,
1908–1917.

Newspaper page from The Day Book carrying the name Higley
The Day Book 1914-07-31
Newspaper page from The Madison Journal carrying the name Higley
The Madison Journal 1917-03-10
Newspaper page from Decorah Public Opinion carrying the name Higley
Decorah Public Opinion 1908-12-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,057 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Higley in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1950s.

1,361 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Higley. The most, 631, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 4.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,159
New South Wales 132
Victoria 32
Western Australia 15
South Australia 10
Tasmania 7
ACT (Canberra) 4

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

Who carried it

People named Higley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Higley 1687–1737 · metallurgist
  • William Kerr Higley 1860–1908 · botanist
  • Charles Higley 1866–1943 · writer
  • Harvey Vanzandt Higley 1892–1986 · businessperson

Wikidata (CC0) · 5 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Higley,
in the records of 4 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 States331 records

331 records of the Higley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 150
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 56
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 49
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 46
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 12
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Louis C. Higley

    Born 1921 in Michigan. Enlisted 1942 at Kalamazoo; aircraft worker from Otsego County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Elm Lawn Cemetery, Bay City, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Lynnford Harlow Higley

    Born 1946; from Lawrence, Kansas. U.S. Army, fixed wing aviation unit commander; killed in action 1969 in Quang Duc, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Higley

    Arrived at New York in 1868 aboard the Virginia from Liverpool, aged 28; laborer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 331 records for Higley 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Higley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Higley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Saldanha, aged 30; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Biographical index John Higley

    In the Western Australian Biographical Index; born 1800.

    State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record H. E. Higley

    Australian Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Higley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Higley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Edwin Russell Higley

    Buried in 1980 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 88.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Bessie Evelyn Higley

    Died 1973 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 85.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William M. Higley

    Married 1887 in Milton, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Higley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Higley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joseph Higley

    Will proved in 1938; of Shropshire.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. J. Higley

    Army Service Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. J. Higley

    Northumberland Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Higley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Higley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Higley is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Higley volume
Scroll to Top