Himes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Himes

What does the name Himes mean?

The Himes name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in or beside an enclosed region. The surname Himes originally derived from the Old English word "hegham" which referred to an "enclosed dwelling." 1

Early Origins of the Himes family

The surname Himes was first found in Norfolk at Heigham, Potter, a parish, in the hundred of Happing. 2

The parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was recorded as Echam. 3

But by 1182, the parish was known as Higham Potter and possibly meant "homestead with a hedge or hatch-gate. The affix must allude to the pot-making here at an early date." 4

As far as early records of the family is concerned, Osward de Hecham was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Essex in 1176 and a few years later, Hugo de Hegham was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Kent in 1198. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had three early entries for the family: Ralph de Hegham, Norfolk; Thomas de Hegham or Heyham, Kent; and Robert de Heyham, Suffolk. 1

Later, Robertus de Hegham was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. "This surname is derived from a geographical locality, 'of the Hegham,' i.e. the enclosed dwelling, a spot in East Cheshire that gave rise to a surname now very familiar to the directories of the surrounding district. Also parishes in the Dioceses of Norwich, Peterborough, and Rochester, which no doubt have contributed to the list in South England." 1

Early History of the Himes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Himes research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1440, 1495, 1545, 1554, 1555, 1558, 1559, 1560, 1568, 1570, 1571, 1572, 1634 and 1636 are included under the topic Early Himes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Himes Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Himes has undergone many spelling variations, including Hyam, Hyams, Hygham, Hyham, Higham, Highams and many more.

Early Notables of the Himes family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Clement Higham, (also Heigham), of Barrow Hall, Suffolk, (1495-1571), a Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons (1554-1555), Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and a Privy Councillor to Queen Mary. He was of a Suffolk family, son of Clement Heigham of Lavenham. "On 27 January 1555 he was knighted by King Philip (Machyn, Diary, p. 342), and on 2 March 1558 he succeeded Sir David Brooke as lord chief Baron of the exchequer. He received a new patent on Queen Elizabeth's accession, but on 22 January 1559 he was...
Another 116 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Himes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Himes Ranking

In the United States, the name Himes is the 2,941^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 6

Himes migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Himes were among those contributors:

Himes Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J V Himes, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1855 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Himes (post 1700) +

John Herby Himes (b. 1878), American Major League Baseball outfielder
Richard Dean Himes (b. 1946), American National Football League offensive lineman
Joshua Vaughan Himes (1805-1895), American Christian leader and publisher
Judge Himes (b. 1900), American Thoroughbred racehorse
Joseph Hendrix Himes (1885-1960), U.S. Representative from Ohio
Lawrence Austin Himes (b. 1940), American general manager for two Major League Baseball teams
James A. "Jim" Himes (b. 1966), American businessman and U.S. Representative for Connecticut
Chester Bomar Himes (1909-1984), American writer
Norman Lawrence "Normie" Himes (1903-1958), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player
John Himes Pitman (1890-1950), American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1928 8

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html