HIGGINBOTTOM

A corruption of the German name, Ickenbaum, that is, oak-tree.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

HIGGINBOTTOM. Following a writer in Gent. ilag. Oct., 1820, I have elsewhere suggested that this strange word might be Ickenhaum, 0. Germ, for oak tree. Another etymology assigned was hicldn, a Lancashire provincialism for the mountain ash, and bottom, a low ground or valley. A correspondent suggests its identity with the Dutch family name Hoogenboom, vhich signifies "high tree," either from the first bearer's residence near one, or a sobriquet allusive to stature.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.