Explore the Family Name Huggins

The meaning of Huggins

English (East Anglia): from the Middle English personal name Hugin, an Old French diminutive of Hugh, with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s. Occasionally the name may also arise from Middle English Huggen, a West Midlands dialect genitive form of the Middle English personal name Hugg (see Hug), synonymous with Hughes, which has the more common -s genitival suffix.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Huggins in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Huggins saw a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname dropped from 1538 to 1602, representing a change of -4.16%. However, the actual count of people with this surname increased by 4.06%, from 21499 in 2000 to 22371 in 2010. Despite the increase in count, the proportion per 100,000 people decreased by 4.89% over the decade.

20002010Change
Rank#1,538#1,602-4.16%
Count21,49922,3714.06%
Proportion per 100k7.977.58-4.89%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Huggins

The ethnic identity distribution of the Huggins surname also changed somewhat between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic increased significantly, by 63.64% and 57.71% respectively. Meanwhile, those identifying as having two or more races also saw an increase of 19.47%. The largest group, those identifying as White, slightly decreased by 3.45%, but still made up over 66% of the individuals with the Huggins surname in 2010. The Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native groups saw minor changes, with an increase of 3.05% for the black community and a decrease of 0.87% for the American Indian and Alaskan Native group.

20002010Change
White68.66%66.29%-3.45%
Black26.21%27.01%3.05%
Hispanic1.75%2.76%57.71%
Two or More Races1.9%2.27%19.47%
American Indian and Alaskan Native1.15%1.14%-0.87%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.33%0.54%63.64%

Huggins ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Huggins is British & Irish, which comprises 56.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (19.0%) and Nigerian (4.6%). Additional ancestries include Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Scandinavian, Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, and Angolan & Congolese.

Ready to learn more about your ancestry? Get the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown on the market by taking our DNA test. Shop 23andMe

ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish56.4%
French & German19.0%
Nigerian4.6%
Other20.0%
Huggins

Possible origins of the surname Huggins

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Huggins have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom84.20%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom84.00%
Merseyside, United Kingdom84.00%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom83.70%
Lancashire, United Kingdom83.10%

What Huggins haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Huggins is R-L226, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-L226 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-L21 and R-CTS2509, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Rodgers, Wilson, Bryant, Moore, Clarke, Smith, Walker, Brown, White, Williams.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Huggins surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

hugginsPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Huggins have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Huggins

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Huggins" Surname 42.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Huggins

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Huggins" Surname 29.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Huggins

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Huggins" Surname 20.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Huggins

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Huggins" Surname 14.5%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Huggins?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Huggins are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%