Whitton
A modern English surname derived from a place in Middlesex.
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the first name Whitton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Whitton today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Whitton births was 2024 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Whitton. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
103
~ 1 in 3,327,712 Americans
Peak year
2024
14 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,424
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Whitton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Whitton from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 58 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Whitton by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Whitton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Whitton
The given name Whitton has its origins in Old English, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is derived from the words "hwit" meaning white and "tun" meaning an enclosed area or settlement, often referring to a farm or village. The name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived in a white-colored settlement or farmstead.
Whitton was a relatively common name among the Anglo-Saxons, particularly in regions where Old English was spoken, such as present-day England and parts of Scotland. It is possible that the name was also used in other Germanic regions of Europe where similar linguistic roots existed.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is likely that Whitton was used as a given name during the Middle Ages, particularly among the lower classes and rural populations of England.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Whitton was Sir Whitton de Wycombe, a English knight who lived in the 13th century and fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence. Another early bearer of the name was Whitton of Mercia, a prominent landowner and nobleman who lived in the 9th century during the reign of King Alfred the Great.
In the 14th century, there was a Whitton de Burgh, a member of the influential de Burgh family of Ireland, who served as a member of the Irish Parliament. During the English Renaissance period, a notable figure named Whitton Shakespeare was a distant relative of the renowned playwright William Shakespeare.
In the 18th century, Whitton Townsend was a British explorer and navigator who made significant contributions to the mapping of the Pacific Ocean and the exploration of the Australian continent.
Another individual with the name Whitton was John Whitton, a prominent British civil engineer who lived from 1820 to 1898. He was instrumental in the construction of several major railway lines in Australia and is considered a pioneer in the field of railway engineering.
While the name Whitton is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English and British naming traditions, with a history that spans centuries and reflects the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Anglo-Saxon world.
People
Whitton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Whitton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Whitton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Whitton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Whitton going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,327,712 US residents.
Is Whitton a common name?
We classify Whitton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Whitton most popular?
The single biggest year for Whitton was 2024, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Whitton is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Whitton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Whitton in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.