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

Whittier, 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 Whittier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Whittier in America

Whittier is the 12047th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Whittier surname appeared 2,589 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Whittier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Whittier 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 Whittier

The surname Whittier is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hwit" meaning white and "ærn" meaning house or dwelling place. It likely originated as a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a white house or a house made of whitewashed stones.

The name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hwittingaraes" in Essex. This suggests that the name was already established in England by the late 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was John Whittier, who was born in Wiltshire, England in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of 1273 as holding lands in the village of Whittier, which was likely named after his family.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as Whytter, Whittyer, and Whittere, reflecting the evolving spelling patterns of the time.

A notable figure with this surname was John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), an American Quaker poet and abolitionist. He was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and is renowned for his influential works such as "Snow-Bound" and "Barbara Frietchie."

Another individual of historical significance was Sir John Whittier (1536-1610), an English lawyer and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1606 to 1610.

In the 17th century, the name was found in various locations across England, including Yorkshire, where a family surnamed Whittier owned lands in the village of Whittiers, now known as Whittiers-Grassington.

In the late 18th century, Nathaniel Whittier (1759-1835), an American farmer and soldier, fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in New Hampshire.

The surname Whittier also has ties to several place names in England, such as Whittiers Close in Hertfordshire and Whittier's Green in Suffolk, further reinforcing its locational origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Whittier

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

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 Whittier 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 Whittier 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 Whittier was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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