Hight
A surname that most likely began as a nickname for someone tall or of high status, from an old word meaning “high.”
The #6,094 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 54,849 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hight is generally explained as a surname formed from the word for “high,” used as a nickname for a tall person or someone who lived on higher ground. It may also have been applied in a figurative sense to someone of elevated rank or standing. The historical spellings and references in older sources suggest it belongs with other height-based surnames such as Height, Hite, and Hyght.
History
The name is found chiefly in English-speaking records and is especially familiar in North America, where shorter surname forms often became fixed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some historical surname lists group it with other names built on the idea of height or high ground. As with many short surnames, it may reflect more than one local family origin rather than a single ancestral line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older English texts use hight as a verb meaning “called” or “named,” but the surname is a separate form built on the idea of height.
From the historical record
“list to learne. Is hight Sir Turpine, one of mickle might'. — Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI. m. xl. TURRELL \ (A.-Fr.-Scand.) theFrench Turrel,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)