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Whitacre History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Whitacre History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Of all the Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Whitacre is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in one of a number of similarly-named places. The settlement of Wheatacre is in Norfolk, while Whiteacre in Waltham is in Kent; both of these names literally mean wheat-field. The place named Whitacre is in Warwickshire, while High Whitaker is in Lancashire; these names both mean white field. The surname Whitacre belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Whitacre family

The surname Whitacre was first found in Warwickshire where the first record of the name was Johias Whitacre (1042-1066), who died while fighting at the Battle of Hastings on the side of King Harold. Despite the fact he was on the losing side of the battle, his family was permitted to keep their estates. The place names Whitacre, Over Whitacre and Nether Whitacre were listed in the Domesday Book as Witacre and literally meant "white cultivated land" from the Old English words "hwit" + "aecer." 1

One of the earliest rolls was the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. Those rolls listed: Alan Witacur in Oxfordshire; and Richard de Whitacre in Northamptonshire. Years later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Henricus Wyteacre; Willelmus de Wetaker; and Rogerus Whitteacres. 2

"The Whittakers or Whitakers are numerous in Lancashire. From the 14th to the 16th century a gentle family of this name lived at High Whitaker or Whitacre in the vills of Simonstone and Padiham, in the parish of Whalley: the Whitakers of Holme and those of Henthorn branched off in the 15th century and those of Healy about 1620. " 3

One of the more interesting etymologies we found was the following: "local. The north part of a graveyard allotted to the poor was called Whittaker, from wite, a penalty, and acre,-a place of burial for criminals. A culprit who could not discharge the penalty or wite became a "witetheow," and was buried in the wite-acre. Bailey defines Whittaker "the north-east part of a flat or shoal-the middle ground." 4

We tend to believe that name was more likely "derived from a geographical locality. 'of the white acre.' " 2 as the former entry would suppose that there would be many such listings of the surname scattered throughout ancient Britain and this was clearly not the case.

Early History of the Whitacre family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitacre research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1375, 1548, 1580, 1586, 1595, 1622, 1640, 1642, 1646, 1659, 1660, 1661, 1679, 1695, 1696, 1701, 1702, 1704, 1715 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Whitacre History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitacre Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Whitacre has been spelled many different ways, including Whittaker, Whittakers, Whitaker, Whitacre and others.

Early Notables of the Whitacre family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir Richard de Whitacre (c.1300-1375), Lord of the Manors of Nether Whitacre, Over Whitacre, Elmdon, and Freasley, he claimed direct descendancy for the aforementioned Johias Whitacre

Whitacre Ranking

In the United States, the name Whitacre is the 6,139^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Whitacre family to Ireland

Some of the Whitacre 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.

Whitacre migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Whitacres to arrive in North America:

Whitacre Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ann Whitacre, who landed in Virginia in 1636 6
Richard Whitacre, who landed in New Jersey in 1675 6
John Whitacre, who arrived in Maryland in 1676 6

Whitacre Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John, Anne, and Robert Whitacre, who settled in Virginia in 1700

Whitacre migration to Australia +

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

Whitacre Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Whitacre, British Convict who was convicted in South Kesteven (Parts of Kesteven), Lincolnshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. James Whitacre, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Whitacre (post 1700) +

John J. Whitacre (1860-1938), American Representative from Ohio elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-second and Sixty-third Congresses (1911-1915)
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970), American Grammy Award winning composer, conductor and lecturer, probably best known for his choral work
Edward Earl "Ed" Whitacre Jr. (b. 1941), American former Chairman and CEO of General Motors and national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 1998 to 2000
Walter Whitacre, American Republican politician, Member of Nevada State House of Representatives, 1950; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nevada, 1956 9
Vernon C. Whitacre, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Hampshire County Democratic Party, 1946-63, 1972-75; Member of West Virginia State Senate 16th District, 1982-88; Appointed 1982 9
Julie Whitacre, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Nevada, 2004 9
John Jefferson Whitacre (1860-1938), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio 18th District, 1911-15; Defeated, 1908; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1912 9

The Whitacre Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Spes et fides
Motto Translation: Hope and faith.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
"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 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html