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

Whitton, 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 Whitton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Whitton in America

Whitton is the 9940th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Whitton surname appeared 3,246 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 Whitton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Whitton 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 Whitton

The surname Whitton is of English origin and is believed to have originated in the medieval period, probably around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English words "hwit" meaning white and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement, suggesting that the name was initially given to someone who lived in or near a white or light-colored town or village.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which contains a reference to a William de Whitton in Lincolnshire. Additionally, the Placita de Quo Warranto of 1292 mentions a John de Wytteton in Warwickshire, which is believed to be an earlier spelling variation of the name.

In the 14th century, the surname Whitton appeared in several manorial records and tax rolls, indicating that it was a well-established surname by that time. For instance, the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire from the late 14th century list a Thomas de Whitton as a landowner.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Robert de Whitton, a knight from Northumberland who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Another notable figure was William Whitton, a merchant and alderman in the city of London during the 15th century, who was mentioned in the city's records in 1436.

In the 16th century, the name Whitton was found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Northumberland. One notable individual from this period was Thomas Whitton, a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in Lichfield in 1556 during the Marian Persecutions.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Whitton surname continued to be well-represented in various parts of England, with some bearers of the name achieving notable positions. For example, John Whitton (1647-1704) was a Church of England clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Norfolk, while Sir William Whitton (1693-1771) was a British naval officer and Member of Parliament for Bridport.

As the centuries progressed, the Whitton surname also spread to other parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, as a result of migration and colonization. Some notable individuals with the surname Whitton in more recent times include Henry Whitton (1853-1931), an Australian cricketer and umpire, and Arthur Whitton (1861-1936), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in Sydney, Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Whitton

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

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

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

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