Hickey, ó hIcídhe
A Gaelic surname meaning descendant of Iceadh meaning ‘healer’. A sept of Dál Cais who were hereditary physicians to the O’Briens of Thuas Mhumhan (Thomond). They were seated at Ballyhickey in the parish of Clooney, Clare. In 1890 Hikey was principally found in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Limerick and Clare, and the estimated number of bearers was 5,900. In the United States it is the 1,173rd most numerous surname with an estimated 27,500 bearers.