Find out how popular the last name Whitford is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Whitford.

Whitford, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Whitford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Whitford in America

Whitford is the 6989th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Whitford surname appeared 4,793 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Whitford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Whitford to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Whitford

The surname Whitford has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the place name Whitford, which itself is a combination of the Old English words "hwit" meaning white and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing.

The earliest known record of the name Whitford can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. It mentions a person named Radulfus de Whitford, who held lands in the county of Devon.

During the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as Whyteford, Whytford, and Whitforde, reflecting the variations in spelling common at the time. One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Whitford (c. 1420-1492), a English knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses.

In the 16th century, the name was also found in Scotland, with records showing a William Whitford who was a merchant in Edinburgh in the year 1557. Around the same time, a Thomas Whitford (c. 1530-1596) was a prominent English Catholic theologian and writer.

During the 17th century, the name Whitford spread to Ireland, where it is believed to have been introduced by English settlers. One notable Irish bearer of the name was Edward Whitford (1679-1753), a landowner and Member of Parliament for County Leitrim.

In the 18th century, the name gained prominence in America, with John Whitford (1725-1801) being a Revolutionary War soldier from Massachusetts. Another notable American was Elijah Whitford (1767-1846), a prominent lawyer and judge in Ohio.

Other notable individuals with the surname Whitford include the English author and playwright James Whitford (1866-1948), the Canadian politician and diplomat Charles Whitford (1905-1985), and the American actress and singer Brandy Whitford (born 1987).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Whitford

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Whitford.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Whitford was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Whitford has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Whitford was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Whitford, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!