Contents [hide]

Witty History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Witty History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Witty family

The surname Witty was first found in Oxfordshire where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list early spelling of the name: Thomas ate Wytheg; William ate Wytheg; and Nicholas de la Wytheg. The same rolls listed Walter de la Wythege in Southamptonshire. "This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the white hay.' "1

Another early rolls included John Witege at Eynsham, Oxfordshire in 1186. Later, Bartholomew atte Withegh was found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1332 and later again, Edmund de Whitehey was listed in the Assize Rolls for Essex in 1351. 2

Early History of the Witty family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Witty research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1097, 1305, 1493, 1586, 1630, 1659, 1755, 1769, 1835 and 1864 are included under the topic Early Witty History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Witty Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whitty, Witty and others.

Early Notables of the Witty family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Mr. Thomas Whitty, a clothier, who developed the idea from an attempt to imitate the Turkey fabrics in Axminster, Devon in 1755...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Witty Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Witty Ranking

In the United States, the name Witty is the 10,271^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Witty family to Ireland

Some of the Witty family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 149 words (11 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Witty migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Witty Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Humphrey Witty, who arrived in Maryland in 1668 4

Witty Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mrs. Witty, aged 29, who immigrated to the United States, in 1894
Robert Witty, aged 38, who settled in America, in 1894

Witty Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Loraine Witty, aged 14, who landed in America, in 1908
James Witty, aged 44, who immigrated to the United States from Monley, England, in 1909
May Witty, aged 32, who landed in America from Monley, England, in 1909
Eveline Witty, aged 20, who landed in America from Hull, England, in 1909
Alice Witty, aged 20, who landed in America from Dalston, England, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Witty migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Witty Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Witty, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1774

Witty Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Gerald Witty, aged 24, who immigrated to St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1919

Witty migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Witty Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Witty, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 30th September 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 5
W. Witty, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Childe Harold" in 1849 6
James Witty, aged 33, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Lord Raglan" 7

Witty migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Witty Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Witty, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cresswell" in 1856
Miss Grace Witty, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tainui" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand in December 1890 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Witty (post 1700) +

William Irwin Witty (b. 1853), American Democratic Party politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives from Rockingham County, 1909-14
Lee T. Witty (1859-1931), American Democratic Party politician, Real estate business; Immigration agent for Missouri Pacific Railroad; Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Scotland County, 1903-06, 1923-24, 1927-31
G. W. Witty, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky, 1888
Frank Witty, American politician, Independent Candidate for U.S. Senator from North Dakota, 1932
Christine "Chris" Diane Witty (b. 1975), American speed skater and racing cyclist
Sir Andrew Philip Witty (b. 1964), English businessman, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline
George Witty (1856-1941), English-born, New Zealand Member of Parliament for Riccarton
John Witty (1915-1990), British film and television actor
Arthur Witty Cotton (1878-1969), Spanish-born, English footballer, club president and businessman

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CHILDE HAROLD 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849ChildeHarold.htm
South Australian Register Wednesday 25th October 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Lord Raglan 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/lordraglan1854.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html