Whytelock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The history of the name Whytelock goes back those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain. Such a name was given to a person with white hair. Looking back further, we find the name Whytelock was derived from the Old English words whit, meaning white and lock, meaning tress or hair. 1 2

Early Origins of the Whytelock family

The surname Whytelock was first found in Devon, but much later "the Whitlocks were best represented in the Halstead [Essex] district." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has only two listings for the family with very early spellings: Emma filius Witlok, Huntingdonshire; and William Witlohc, Oxfordshire. 4

Kirby's Quest also had two early entries for the family in Somerset: William atte Whytelak and Walter Whytelock. Both were "1 Edward III," in other words entered in the first year of King Edward III's reign. 5

Much further to the north in Scotland, "Th Quhyteloke" was Burgess of Edinburgh in 1403 and Robert Quhytlok was a tenant under the Abbey of Kelso in 1567. 6

Early History of the Whytelock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whytelock research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1537, 1564, 1565, 1570, 1584, 1586, 1605, 1608, 1610, 1622, 1624, 1625, 1631, 1632, 1654, 1659, 1675, 1701 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Whytelock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whytelock Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Whytelock family name include Whitlock, Whitelock, Witlock and others.

Early Notables of the Whytelock family

Notables of the family at this time include Edmund Whitelocke (1565-1608), English courtier, born in the parish of St. Gabriel, Fenchurch Street, London, on 10 Feb. 1564, the eldest son of Richard Whitelocke, merchant. His youngest brother, Sir James Whitelocke SL (1570-1632), was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1622. 7 His son, Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-1675), was an English lawyer...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Whytelock Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Whytelock family to Ireland

Some of the Whytelock family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Whytelock family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Whytelock or a variant listed above: Thomas and Ann Whitlock, who settled in Virginia in 1638; William Whitelock settled in Barbados in 1776.

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print