Witherspoon Surname

29,331st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 18,283 people bear this surname

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

Witherspoon Surname Definition:

I can make nothing out of this surname, and leave it to the consideration of more enlightened students. I can furnish them with materials, but that is all. My Yorkshire references clearly represent some of its ancestors.

Adam Wytherpyn, Norfolk, 1273.

Read More About This Surname

Witherspoon Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States16,8251:21,5432,718
Canada4351:84,7039,410
England3691:150,99714,419
Liberia1971:22,3782,199
Australia1771:152,51816,101
Scotland571:93,9276,548
Northern Ireland491:37,6543,578
South Africa391:1,389,17274,222
Kuwait291:131,05814,967
Wales211:147,35910,403
Iraq211:1,667,69816,789
New Zealand201:226,41621,878
Nigeria61:29,523,793355,097
Germany41:20,126,365436,245
Sri Lanka41:5,202,14012,146
Japan31:42,614,76459,022
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland641:69,2175,108
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1011:241,34017,803
Scotland771:48,6133,403
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,7011:18,5932,355

Witherspoon (18) may also be a first name.

Witherspoon Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

I can make nothing out of this surname, and leave it to the consideration of more enlightened students. I can furnish them with materials, but that is all. My Yorkshire references clearly represent some of its ancestors.

Adam Wytherpyn, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Adam Wyerpin, Norfolk, ibid.

Johannes Withspone, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Willelmus Wythspone, 1379: ibid.

John Wetherpyn, vicar of Thrickby, Norfolk, 1419: History of Norfolk.

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

The meaning of this name is uncertain. 'Sheep pasture' has been reasonably suggested from Old English and ME. weðer, 'sheep, lamb, and spong, obsolete English for a tongue-shaped piece of land enclosed by or lying next to higher ground. Late in the thirteenth century Roger Wythirspon, clerk, attested a grant by James the High Steward of lands in Renfrew (OPS., I, p. 77). "Widderspune the foulare that tald talis and brocht foulis to the king" received a payment in 1496 (ALHT., I, p. 307; Trials, I, p. 116). John Wyddirspwn was tenant of Dalbeth in 1518 (Rental), and a tenant of Cupar-Angus Abbey, c. 1500, was named Wychthirspone. Maister Nichol Vithirspouyne who witnessed letters of reversion, 1519 (Pollok, I, p. 241) may be Nicholas Wethirspwne, witness in Glasgow, 1548 (Protocols, I). Sir Thomas Vaddirspoun, a cleric, was witness at Falkland, 1548 (Gaw, 8). Thomas Witherspuyn witnessed a tack by the abbot of Cupar, 1521 (SCM. V, p. 294), and Archibald Wetherspune held the vicarage of Karridden, 1546 (LSC., p. 261). Robert Wyddirspune was witness in West Lothian, 1547 (Binns, 40). The Rev. John Witherspoon (1722-1794), born in Yester, became president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1768, and took an active part in the American Revolution on the side of the colonists. General William Wallace Wotherspoon (1850-1921), head of the state canal system of New York, was of Scottish descent. Uedtherspon 1560, Uthirspwne 1552, Vatherspoone 1637, Wedderspoone 1620, Wetherspone 1614, Wetherspwne 1549, Wethirspone 1590, Wethirspune 1569, Weyhthirspon 1546, Widerspune 1483, Witherspone 1583, Witherspune 1588, Withirspovune c. 1530, Withirspwne 1575, Wodderspoon 1761, Wotherspone 1601, Wyddirspwnn 1485, Wyderspone 1477.

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

For Wetherspoon, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) A variant of Weatherspoon, q.v.

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

Witherspoon Last Name Facts

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

Witherspoon occurs most in The United States. It may also be found as a variant:. Click here to see other possible spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Witherspoon? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 29,331st most prevalent surname world-wide. It is borne by around 1 in 398,597 people. Witherspoon occurs mostly in The Americas, where 94 percent of Witherspoon reside; 94 percent reside in North America and 94 percent reside in Anglo-North America. It is also the 2,608,198th most frequent first name globally. It is borne by 18 people.

The surname Witherspoon is most commonly held in The United States, where it is borne by 16,825 people, or 1 in 21,543. In The United States Witherspoon is most prevalent in: Maryland, where 10 percent are found, North Carolina, where 9 percent are found and Texas, where 9 percent are found. Excluding The United States Witherspoon exists in 37 countries. It is also common in Canada, where 2 percent are found and England, where 2 percent are found.

Witherspoon Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Witherspoon has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Witherspoon last name increased 623 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 365 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it fell 26 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Witherspoon Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Witherspoon surname is principally Presbyterian (98%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Witherspoon surname are 2.36% more likely to be registered Democrats than the national average, with 55.59% registered with the political party.

The amount Witherspoon earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 73% more than the national average, earning R 411,108 per year; in United States they earn 9.96% less than the national average, earning $38,850 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.91% more than the national average, earning $51,627 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Witherspoon Reference & Research

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

Witherspoon DNA proj 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 Witherspoon
  • 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