WHITFIELD
Whitfield is an English surname of ancient origin, first recorded in the middle ages and persisting to the present day.
The name derives from the Old English words hwit meaning “white” and feld meaning “field” or “open country”. This linguistic combination gives the literal sense of “white field”, which may have described a chalky, bright plain or a field that stood out from surrounding moorland and forests.
As a locational surname, Whitfield is associated with several places in England. These include villages and settlements named Whitfield in Derbyshire, Kent, Northamptonshire and Northumberland, as well as locations called Whitefield in Lancashire, the Isle of Wight, Gloucestershire, and Oxfordshire. The Domesday Book entry for Wicfeld in 1086, one of these sites, explains that its first element derives from the ancient term wican, meaning “to bend” or “curve”, referring to a recess in a neighbouring hill, while the second element feld describes land free from trees.
Historical documents attest to the early use of the surname. Entries such as William de Whitefeld in the Somerset Pipe Rolls of 1230 and Richard Whytefeld in the Gloucestershire Pipe Rolls of 1396 illustrate the surname’s presence in legal and fiscal records. The very first spelling recorded for the family is believed to be that of Leonard de Witefelde in the Eynsham Cartulary of 1154, a document compiled during the reign of King Henry XI of England.
The spread of the name beyond Britain is marked by the migration of John Whitfield, aged 20, who departed from the port of London aboard the ship “Globe” in August 1635 bound for Virginia. He is among the earliest documented bearers of the surname to settle in the New England colonies of America, illustrating the surname’s transatlantic reach.
Throughout its history, the surname Whitfield has signified a connection either to a distinctive white field or to one of the many English localities bearing that descriptive name. Its endurance from Anglo‑Saxon times to the present, as evidenced by legal records, census data and overseas migration, reflects the continuity and geographical breadth of this enduring English family name.
Typical given names associated with the Whitfield surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
Female
- Ann
- Christine
- Helen
- Jane
- Jean
- Joanne
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Whitfield in...
Braille
⠺⠓⠊⠞⠋⠊⠑⠇⠙
Morse
.--......-..-.....-..-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 12,381 people named Whitfield in the UK. That makes it the 727th most common surname in Britain. Around 190 in a million people in Britain are named Whitfield.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Whitfield
- June Whitfield - Actress (1925 to 2018)
- Andy Whitfield - Welsh actor (1971 to 2011)
- David Whitfield - Male tenor vocalist (1925 to 1980)
- Ben Whitfield - Football player
- William Whitfield - Architect (1920 to 2019)
- John Whitfield - Politician
- Barry Whitfield - Pianist
- Harold Whitfield - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1886 to 1956)
- Ken Whitfield - Football player (1930 to 1995)
- Ashleigh Whitfield - Continuity announcer
- James Whitfield - Archbishop of Baltimore (1770 to 1834)
- Jimmy Whitfield - Football player (1919 to 1)
- Roger Whitfield - Cyclist
- Jack Whitfield - Welsh rugby union player (1892 to 1927)
- Paul Whitfield - Football player
- Duwaine Whitfield -
- Mick Whitfield - Football player
- Thomas Whitfield - /German biochemist and entrepreneur
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.