Whitehead Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Whitehead last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Whitehead last name
Meaning of the Whitehead last name: white-haired. Whitehead is a nickname for a man with white or very fair hair, from the old words for "white" and "head". It could describe early grey hair or the pale hair of a fair youth. The name is most common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where it is a familiar local name. A curious detail: the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead co-wrote one of the most famous books in mathematics.
Arms associated with the Whitehead name
English heralds once rode round the counties checking who used arms, and families with the Whitehead name appear in that long tradition.
Get your full Whitehead family history
This is only a glimpse of the Whitehead story. The full Whitehead history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Whitehead coat of arms. Get the full Whitehead report.
Whitehead name FAQ
What does the Whitehead name mean?
White-haired. Common variants include Whithead, Whiteheade, Weisskopf.
Where does the Whitehead surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Whitehead coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Whitehead coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.