Whetherhead Surname

14,316,765th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
United States

Whetherhead Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from an occupation. The wetherherd was a tender of rams. The change of the suffix -herd into -head was a natural one, and is now all but universal.

John le Wetherhurde, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

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Whetherhead Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England51:4,875,074116,529

Whetherhead Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from an occupation. The wetherherd was a tender of rams. The change of the suffix -herd into -head was a natural one, and is now all but universal.

John le Wetherhurde, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

John Wetherhird. Issues of the Exchequer.

Johannes Wetherhyrd, faber, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Thomas Jonson Wetherhird (i.e. Thomas, the son of John Wetherherd), 1379: ibid.

Agnes Wederhead, of Hornby, 1580: Lancashire Wills at Richmond.

1583-4. William Smithe, yeoman, and Joan Wetherhedd: Marriage Lic. (London).

1618. Edward Wethered, Oxfordshire: Register of the University of Oxford.

1633. Bant. — Mary, d. Nicholas Wetherheael:

-ster as in spinster, was so much more popular that Weaver has not pushed its way into the directories so successfully as might have been expected. But in America it has prospered wonderfully. The simple Webb (which see) also took from the success of this name.

1522. George Wever: Register of the University of Oxford.

1585. Thomas Weaver, of Wettenhall, gent.: Wills at Chester.

1610. Married — Henrie Planncon, Dutchman, and Margrett Weaver: St. Peter, Cornhill.

1646. Cecilia Weever, of Warrington, widow: Wills at Chester.

Nicholas Weever, of Goosnargh, 1670: Lancashire Wills at Richmond.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

WETHERHERD: From the occupation of 'wether-herd' or shepherd (Old English weder + hierde). Thomas dictus Wethyrhyrde held six bovates of land in Neucraneston, c. 1200 (Neubotle, p. 168). William Wytherhird of Berwickshire rendered homage, 1296 (Bain, II, p. 210).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Weatherhead: Of local origin from some small place of the name (a hill), probably in Berwickshire. William Wedderat was burgess of Lauder in 1493 (Laing, 217), George Wedderheid or Weddirheid had a precept carte feodifirme in 1532 and another in 1542 (RSS., II, 1308, 4671), and Robert Wedderat was clerk of the diocese of St. Andrews and notary public in 1547 (RRM., III, p. 342). Payment was made to Robene Wedderate in renunciation of his tacks in 1567 (Dryburgh, p. 404). Andrew Wedderheid rendered to Exchequer the accounts of the burgh of Lauder in 1560 (ER., XIX, p. 117), and five years later we have sasine of land in Lauder to Andrew Wedderat (ibid., p. 544). Cuthbert Wedderet witnessed a sasine of 1541 (Home, 252), David Wedderhead is recorded in the parish of Makarstoune in 1559 (Lauder), Margaret Watherit in Skaithmoor, 1685 (RPC., 3. ser. X, p. 480), and the tenement of George Waderit is mentioned in 1692 (Retours, Berwick, 446). George Hume Weatherhead (c. 1790—1853) was author of several medical works and M. P. for Edinburgh, c. 1850, and T. C. Weatherhead was author of educational works for examination purposes. Wadderat 1632.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

1. Local: "the bleak promontory?" 2. Perhaps a corruption of Wetherherd.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

WETHERHERD: A shepherd-one who took care of wether-sheep. This name is ancient, occurring temp. Edward I.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Weatherhead was the name of the vicar of Thorp Arch, in the city of York, early last century (D.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Whetherhead Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Whetherhead Come From? nationality or country of origin

Whetherhead occurs in The United States more than any other country/territory. It may appear as a variant:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Whetherhead? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 14,316,765th most common family name on a worldwide basis, borne by approximately 1 in 2,147,483,647 people. This surname occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 100 percent of Whetherhead are found; 100 percent are found in North America and 100 percent are found in Anglo-North America.

This surname is most common in The United States, where it is carried by 1 people, or 1 in 362,458,933. In The United States it is most frequent in: Illinois, where 100 percent reside.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Whetherhead
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis