Whittaker Surname

8,937th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 63,403 people bear this surname

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

Whittaker Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of the white acre.' No doubt many small localities scattered over the country bearing this name have helped to swell the large total of Whitakers found in our modern directories. Overand Nether Whitacre are parishes in Warwickshire.

Read More About This Surname

Whittaker Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States22,8561:15,8582,019
England21,9421:2,539328
Australia6,4011:4,217611
Canada3,7201:9,9051,480
South Africa1,6311:33,2174,245
New Zealand1,3711:3,303499
Jamaica1,2851:2,233357
Wales7671:4,035437
Cayman Islands7171:897
Scotland5391:9,9331,378
Ireland2401:19,6212,041
Barbados2341:1,228285
Northern Ireland1651:11,1821,706
France1461:454,95065,144
Panama1361:28,7671,703
Honduras841:104,9581,728
Thailand781:905,620141,791
Guyana711:10,7361,577
Spain711:658,47929,555
Isle of Man631:1,362231
Trinidad and Tobago591:23,1182,593
Belize501:7,1091,087
Portugal471:221,6658,706
Netherlands461:367,11340,368
Chile431:409,68511,039
Singapore431:128,0865,748
Colombia381:1,257,21210,114
Germany381:2,118,565113,742
Jersey361:2,756488
Dominican Republic311:336,54611,471
Brazil301:7,135,811166,009
Zimbabwe281:551,36643,741
Namibia261:92,6698,353
Philippines261:3,893,778155,597
Guernsey221:2,929767
Norway221:233,74025,571
Malaysia201:1,474,71161,770
Sweden201:492,33835,486
Saint Kitts and Nevis191:2,905410
Botswana171:128,64318,229
Iraq161:2,188,85319,343
Denmark151:376,31425,792
Italy151:4,077,113105,022
Turks and Caicos Islands131:2,641268
Qatar121:196,50026,891
Antigua and Barbuda91:11,0191,084
Fiji91:99,3771,883
Switzerland81:1,026,61463,315
Czechia71:1,519,06797,842
Japan71:18,263,47047,869
China61:227,886,92811,701
Cuba61:1,920,4538,345
Greece61:1,846,63289,049
Bermuda51:13,0561,849
Cook Islands51:3,636866
Peru51:6,356,82538,776
Belgium41:2,874,161111,046
Finland41:1,374,17650,379
French Polynesia41:70,2014,444
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
India41:191,766,3461,073,940
Russia41:36,030,764577,589
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Kenya31:15,393,30077,493
Latvia31:683,34934,074
Vietnam31:30,882,0184,101
Austria21:4,257,71899,224
Azerbaijan21:4,824,56142,415
Bolivia21:5,308,21712,400
Brunei21:209,3663,098
Bulgaria21:3,489,45264,958
Cambodia21:7,743,57311,959
Luxembourg21:290,2718,611
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Chad11:13,592,19913,092
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Estonia11:1,321,80440,178
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Gibraltar11:33,9541,660
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Jordan11:8,842,43726,010
Laos11:6,588,3231,961
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Nicaragua11:6,021,0908,768
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Saint Lucia11:178,7813,800
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Suriname11:552,6169,664
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Uruguay11:3,431,75838,295
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland2481:17,8622,173
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England14,0091:1,740222
Scotland1131:33,1262,735
Wales1021:15,377914
Isle of Man81:6,784664
Jersey21:25,9413,069
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,0311:12,4581,614

Whittaker (115) may also be a first name.

Whittaker Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of the white acre.' No doubt many small localities scattered over the country bearing this name have helped to swell the large total of Whitakers found in our modern directories. Overand Nether Whitacre are parishes in Warwickshire.

Simon de Withacre, Leicestershire, Henry III-Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I.

Alan Witacur, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Richard de Whitacre, Northamptonshire, ibid.

Jordan de Whitacre, Northamptonshire, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Henricus Wyteacre, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Willelmus de Wetaker, 1379: ibid.

Rogerus Whitteacres, 1379: ibid.

1618. Married — John Whitaker and Mary Storey: St. Dionis Back church.

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

V. Whitaker, Whitacre.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Wheat Field” in Old English.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English) Dweller at, or in, the white field.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Local. The north part of a graveyard allotted to the poor was called Whittaker, from wite, a penalty, and acre,—a place of burial for criminals. A culprit who could not discharge the penalty or wite became a "witetheow," and was buried in the wite—acre. Bailey defines Whittaker "the north—east part of a flat or shoal—the middle ground."

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From Whitacre; a location name in Worcestershire Or Wheatacre, Norfolk.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

The Whittakers or Whitakers are numerous in Lancashire. From the 14th to the 16th century a gentle family of this name lived at High Whitaker or Whitacre in the vills of Simonstone and Padiham, in the parish of Whalley: the Whitakers of Holme and those of Henthorn branched off in the 15th century and those of Healy about 1620 (W. W.). The name was frequent in the parish of Rochdale in the 16th century (F.). During last century the Whittakers were well - to - do Manchester townsmen (B.). The name is just as frequent in the West Riding and less so in Cheshire.

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

Whittaker Last Name Facts

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

The surname Whittaker is held by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also be rendered as:. Click here for further potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Whittaker? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 8,937th most frequently used family name on earth. It is borne by approximately 1 in 114,940 people. Whittaker occurs mostly in The Americas, where 46 percent of Whittaker live; 42 percent live in North America and 42 percent live in Anglo-North America. Whittaker is also the 873,022nd most frequently used first name globally, held by 115 people.

The surname Whittaker is most commonly used in The United States, where it is borne by 22,856 people, or 1 in 15,858. In The United States it is primarily found in: California, where 9 percent reside, Florida, where 7 percent reside and New York, where 6 percent reside. Excluding The United States this last name occurs in 101 countries. It also occurs in England, where 35 percent reside and Australia, where 10 percent reside.

Whittaker Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Whittaker has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Whittaker surname rose 567 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 157 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 752 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 477 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 3 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Whittaker Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the last name is principally Anglican (52%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Whittaker surname are 10.8% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 57.57% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Whittaker earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 7.11% more than the national average, earning 370,679 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 45.8% more than the national average, earning R 346,476 per year; in Colombia they earn 10.08% less than the national average, earning $20,413,900 COP per year; in United States they earn 0.13% less than the national average, earning $43,092 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.83% more than the national average, earning $52,083 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Search for Another Surname

Whittaker Reference & Research

Whittaker FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Whittaker FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Whittaker
  • 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