High
A simple English surname that most often began as a nickname for someone tall or from a high place.
The #2,585 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,115 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally understood as coming from Middle English high, meaning "tall" or "of great stature," ultimately from Old English hēah, "high" or "lofty." In some cases it may also have been applied to someone who lived on elevated ground or near a prominent height. The name is one of the straightforward topographical or descriptive surnames that arose from everyday vocabulary.
History
As an English surname, High fits the broad medieval pattern of names formed from physical description or local landscape. It is also a surname that could arise independently in more than one place, so different High families need not share a single ancestor. Modern American bearers are likely descended from English lines, though the name is not especially tied to one specific county in the historical excerpts provided.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it is such a short, common word, High could have been coined separately in multiple communities without connection to each other.
From the historical record
“M.E. = Middle English (12th to ijlh cent.) meton. = metonymic. M.H.Ger. = Middle High German (12th to 15th cent.) M.Ir. = Middle Irish (12th to mid. i6thcent. M.N.E. = Middle Northern English. M.Scot. = Middle Scottish.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)