Show ContentsWhiston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Whiston family

The surname Whiston was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they held a family seat from ancient times in the reign of King Malcolm IV in 1153, in the village of Wicestun.

Further south in England, Whiston can be found in Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire. Here the place name literally means "white stone." 1

Early History of the Whiston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whiston research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1200, 1260, 1292, 1300, 1358, 1667, 1699, 1752 and 1780 are included under the topic Early Whiston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whiston Spelling Variations

The origin of rules governing the spelling of names and even words is a very recent innovation. Before that, words and names were spelled according to sound, and, therefore, often appeared under several different spelling variations in a single document. Whiston has been spelled Whiston, Wiston and others.

Early Notables of the Whiston family

More information is included under the topic Early Whiston Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Whiston family to Ireland

Some of the Whiston 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.


Whiston migration to the United States +

The persecution faced in their homeland left many Scots with little to do but sail for the colonies of North America. There they found land, freedom, opportunity, and nations in the making. They fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence, or traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In both cases, they made enormous contributions to the formation of those great nations. Among them:

Whiston Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Whiston, who arrived in New England in 1637 2
Whiston Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Nathanial, James, and Charles Whiston, all, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1820 and 1874
  • Charles P Whiston, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 2
  • William Whiston, aged 15, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892
Whiston Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Fred Whiston, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States from England, in 1902
  • Bridget Whiston, aged 21, who landed in America from Swinford, in 1903
  • Charles Whiston, aged 32, who settled in America from London, in 1906
  • Mary Ann Whiston, aged 35, who landed in America from Tellington, England, in 1908
  • William Edward Whiston, aged 21, who landed in America from Fenton, England, in 1910
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whiston migration to Australia +

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

Whiston Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Whiston, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Egyptian" on 5th April 1839, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
  • Mr. William Whiston, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "China" on 195th January 1846, arriving in Norfolk Island, Australia 4

Whiston 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:

Whiston Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • J. Whiston, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Balaklava" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Whiston (post 1700) +

  • Donald Francis "Don" Whiston (b. 1927), American ice hockey player who won a silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympics
  • Charles J. Whiston, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from West Virginia 2nd District, 1960 5
  • Peter Rice Whiston (1912-1999), Scottish Architect, appointment as a Knight of St Gregory the Great in 1969
  • Brock Whiston (b. 1996), British Paralympic swimmer, gold medalist at the 2024 Paralympics
  • Donald Whiston (b. 1930), English former footballer who played from 1949 to 1959
  • Peter Whiston (b. 1968), retired English football defender who played from 1987 to 2014
  • John Reginald Harvey Whiston OBE (1893-1956), British Associate Professor of Applied Chemistry at the Royal Military College
  • Daniel Whiston (b. 1976), English ice skater from Blackpool

Halifax Explosion
  • Mr. David H  Whiston (1833-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 6


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. 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)
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th January 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/egyptian
  4. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 5th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/china
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  6. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance


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