2000
#2,023
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,441
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.09
Uncommon Last name
Whittaker
An occupational surname referring to a white taker or dresser of light-colored cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,393 Americans carry the last name Whittaker. That puts it at #2,080 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whittaker surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Whittaker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,674
Census rank
#2,080
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,912 bearers of the surname Whittaker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2080th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whittaker, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Whittaker
The surname Whittaker has its origins in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "hwit" meaning white and "taquere" meaning a fuller of cloth. Together, "hwittaquere" referred to someone who worked as a whitener or fuller of cloth, an essential occupation in medieval times.
The name is first recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1191, where it appears as "Whitteakere". This early spelling variation highlights the localized nature of surnames in that era, with regional dialects and spelling conventions influencing how names were written down.
As the surname evolved, it became associated with certain areas of northern England, particularly Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. This geographic concentration is reflected in the appearance of Whittakers in various historical records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332, which list several individuals with the surname.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name is found in the Chorley Parish Registers of Lancashire, which record the baptism of a John Whittaker in 1558. This entry provides evidence of the surname's establishment in the region by the 16th century.
Whittaker has also been linked to several place names in northern England, including Whittaker in Lancashire and Whittakers in Yorkshire. These locations may have derived their names from the surname or vice versa, further cementing the connection between the name and the local geography.
Several notable individuals have borne the surname Whittaker throughout history. One such figure is Sir Richard Whittaker (1618-1689), an English judge and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Aylesbury in the 17th century.
Another prominent Whittaker was Thomas Whittaker (1776-1840), an English botanist and curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Chelsea, London. His contributions to the study of plants and their classification were significant during his lifetime.
In the field of literature, John Whittaker (1777-1846) was an English writer and editor who published works on various subjects, including history, theology, and politics.
The name Whittaker has also been associated with sports. In the early 20th century, Walter Whittaker (1876-1944) was an English professional footballer who played for clubs like Manchester City and Birmingham City.
More recently, Robert Whittaker (born 1990) is a New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist who has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and held the UFC Interim Middleweight Championship.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whittaker
Among Census respondents with the surname Whittaker, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Whittaker bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Whittaker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.2% · 12,379
- Black or African American17.7% · 2,992
- Two or more races4.0% · 675
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 670
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 85
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whittaker
Whittaker appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,100
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,234
+793 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 5.84
Rank movement Down 77 places
2020
#2,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,912
-322 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 5.66
Rank movement Up 20 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,023 | 16,441 | 6.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,100 | 17,234 | 5.84 | +793 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 77 places |
| 2020 | #2,080 | 16,912 | 5.66 | -322 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 20 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Whittaker surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,100 | #2,080 | 1.0% |
| Count | 17,234 | 16,912 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.84 | 5.66 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whittaker bearers went from 17,234 to 16,912 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 20 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,100 to #2,080.
FAQ
Whittaker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whittaker?
Name Census estimates that about 19,393 living Americans carry the surname Whittaker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,674 residents.
How common is Whittaker?
Whittaker ranks #2,080 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,912 people with the surname Whittaker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,393), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Whittaker.
Has Whittaker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whittaker went from 17,234 recorded bearers to 16,912. That is a decrease of 322 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,100 to #2,080.
What does the Census say about the background of Whittaker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whittaker, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Whittaker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.2% (12,379 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whittaker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.2%), Black (17.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Whittaker (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Whittaker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a white taker or dresser of light-colored cloth. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Whittaker (5.66 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Whittaker?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Whittaker on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.