Family name origins & meanings
- English (chiefly East Anglia and northern England) : nickname for a tall man, from Middle English hegh, hie ‘high’, ‘tall’, Old English hēah (compare Hay 2), or a topographic name for a dweller on a hilltop or high place, from the same word used in a topographical sense. This second use is supported by early forms such as Richard atte High (Sussex 1332).