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

Whittington, 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 Whittington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Whittington in America

Whittington is the 2059th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Whittington surname appeared 17,517 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Whittington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Whittington 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 Whittington

The surname Whittington is of English origin, derived from a place name. It is believed to have originated in the village of Whittington, located in the county of Shropshire. The name is thought to have been derived from the Old English words "hwit" meaning white, and "tun" meaning a farm or settlement, thus translating to "white farm" or "white settlement."

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Whittington dates back to the 13th century in the Hundred Rolls of Shropshire, where it appeared as "de Whytington." This early spelling suggests that the name was initially used as a locative surname, indicating that the bearer hailed from the village of Whittington.

One of the most notable historical figures associated with the Whittington surname is Richard Whittington, a famous merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London four times between 1397 and 1419. His story, which involves him becoming wealthy through his trade ventures and his legendary encounter with a cat, has been immortalized in the popular folktale "Dick Whittington and His Cat."

Another prominent individual bearing the Whittington surname was Sir John Whittington, a 16th-century English judge and politician who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1572 to 1579.

In the literary world, Robert Whittington (1480-1553) was an English grammarian and schoolmaster, known for his work "Grammaticae prima pars" published in 1516, which was widely used as a textbook in schools.

Sir Sibert Whittington (1640-1706) was an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Staffordshire in the late 17th century.

Andrew Whittington (1768-1830) was a British architect and surveyor, best known for his work on the Birmingham Town Hall and the reconstruction of the Church of St. Martin in Birmingham.

While the Whittington surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and immigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the village of Whittington in Shropshire, where it first emerged as a locative surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Whittington

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

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

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

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