2000
#1,924
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,163
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.36
Uncommon Last name
Whittington
A locational surname derived from any of the places in England named Whittington, meaning "white settlement" or "Hwita's settlement."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,202 Americans carry the last name Whittington. That puts it at #2,099 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,850 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whittington 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 Whittington with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,850
Census rank
#2,099
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,745 bearers of the surname Whittington in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2099th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whittington, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whittington
Among Census respondents with the surname Whittington, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Whittington 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 Whittington surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 12,901
- Black or African American14.5% · 2,428
- Two or more races3.9% · 658
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 570
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 93
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whittington
Whittington 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
#2,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,517
+354 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 5.94
Rank movement Down 135 places
2020
#2,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,745
-772 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 5.60
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,924 | 17,163 | 6.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,059 | 17,517 | 5.94 | +354 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 135 places |
| 2020 | #2,099 | 16,745 | 5.60 | -772 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 40 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 Whittington 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 | #2,059 | #2,099 | -1.9% |
| Count | 17,517 | 16,745 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 5.94 | 5.60 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whittington bearers went from 17,517 to 16,745 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,059 to #2,099.
FAQ
Whittington surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whittington?
Name Census estimates that about 19,202 living Americans carry the surname Whittington. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,850 residents.
How common is Whittington?
Whittington ranks #2,099 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.60 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 16,745 people with the surname Whittington. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,202), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.60 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 Whittington.
Has Whittington become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whittington went from 17,517 recorded bearers to 16,745. That is a decrease of 772 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,059 to #2,099.
What does the Census say about the background of Whittington?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whittington, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Whittington in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (12,901 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whittington appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.0%), Black (14.5%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Whittington (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 Whittington mean?
A locational surname derived from any of the places in England named Whittington, meaning "white settlement" or "Hwita's settlement." 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 Whittington (5.60 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 Whittington?
If you just want to know how common the surname Whittington is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.