Contents [hide]

Whitefield History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Whitefield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Early Origins of the Whitefield family

The surname Whitefield was first found in Northumberland at Whitfield, a parish, in the union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward where "this place was for six centuries the property of the Whitfield family, to whom the Countess Ada, widow of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, and mother of William the Lion, King of Scotland, made a grant of it in fee, with the exception of some lands to be held under the convent of Hexham; shortly after which, the family had a grant from that establishment of nearly all Whitfield." 1

Due to the literal translation of the surname to "dweller by the white field," 2 there are many other place name in both common spellings, Whitefield and Whitfield; too many to list here. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Margery de Wytefled in Oxfordshire; and Peter de Whytefled in Norfolk. 3

Early History of the Whitefield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitefield research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1371, 1378, 1384, 1401, 1619, 1634, 1639, 1646, 1650, 1660, 1684, 1685, 1688, 1705, 1712 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Whitefield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitefield Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whytefield, Whitfield, Whitefield, Whitefeild and others.

Early Notables of the Whitefield family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Henry Whitefield, Archdeacon of Barnstaple from 1371 to 1384; and Thomas Whitefield (fl. 1378-1401), an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Hereford in 1378 and 1401
Henry Whitfield or Whitefield (d. 1660?), was an English divine, said to have been second son of Ralph Whitfeld of Gray's Inn. "He was more probably son of Thomas Whitfeld, lord of the manor of East S...

Whitefield Ranking

In the United States, the name Whitefield is the 10,012^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Whitefield family to Ireland

Some of the Whitefield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 146 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitefield migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whitefield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Gilbert Whitefield, who landed in Virginia in 1634 5
John Whitefield, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1634 5
Richard Whitefield, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Fasey Whitefield, who arrived in Maryland in 1672 5
Richard Whitefield, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1683 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whitefield migration to Australia +

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

Whitefield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Robert Whitefield, aged 29, a miner, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Medina" 6
James Whitefield, aged 19, British settler who arrived in Adelaide, South Australia aboard the "Hesperus" in 1883
James Whitefield, aged 41, British settler who arrived in Adelaide, South Australia aboard the "Hesperus" in 1883
Emma Whitefield, aged 38, British settler who arrived in Adelaide, South Australia aboard the "Hesperus" in 1883
Alice Whitefield, aged 10, British settler who arrived in Adelaide, South Australia aboard the "Hesperus" in 1883
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whitefield 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:

Whitefield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Whitefield, British settler travelling from London via Cape ports aboard the ship "Pembroke Castle" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th November 1889 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Whitefield (post 1700) +

Edwin Whitefield (1816-1892), English-born American landscape artist
William Whitefield, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2008 8
Donald D. Whitefield, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Texas 8th District, 1974 8
Carolyn Whitefield, American Republican politician, Chair of Miller County Republican Party, 2003 8
Billie V. Whitefield, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Texas, 1992 8
George Whitefield (1714-1770), English evangelist who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and the American colonies 9
Patrick Whitefield (1949-2015), born Patrick R. Vickers, a British permaculture teacher, designer, author
Karen Whitefield (b. 1970), Scottish Labour politician, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts (1999-2011)
George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931), American composer, he wrote the overture "Rip Van Winkle" while in Leipzig and Munich

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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)
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MEDINA 1852. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/medina1852.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 Jan. 2019