The Whitford surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,793 people carried this name — #6,989 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 61,700 people counted. That is down 1% from 4,836 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Whitford surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Whitford» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

40 families named Whitford, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 248 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Rhode Island 22
Maryland 8
Massachusetts 6
Connecticut 3
Vermont 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 268 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Whitford in American newspapers,
1924.

Newspaper page from East St. Louis Daily Journal carrying the name Whitford
East St. Louis Daily Journal 1924-06-22
Newspaper page from East St. Louis Daily Journal carrying the name Whitford
East St. Louis Daily Journal 1924-06-22
Newspaper page from East St. Louis Daily Journal carrying the name Whitford
East St. Louis Daily Journal 1924-06-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 33,985 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Whitford in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

27,023 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Whitford. The most, 8,175, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 3.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 10,248
New South Wales 5,742
Victoria 4,959
Western Australia 3,100
Tasmania 1,453
Queensland 1,389
ACT (Canberra) 59
Northern Territory 29

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Whitford.

Who carried it

People named Whitford,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Clay B. Whitford
    Clay B. Whitford 1854–1914 · politician
  • Charles Whitford d. 1722
  • Richard Whitford 1495–1543 · writer
  • Walter Whitford 1581–1647 · Anglican priest
  • Adam Whitford 1623–1647
  • Adam Whitford 1624–1646

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Whitford,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States675 records

675 records of the Whitford name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 162
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 157
  • Other U.S. records 356
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Leslie E. Whitford

    Born 1915 in Washington. Enlisted 1942 at Tacoma; driver from Snohomish County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Tahoma National Cemetery, Washington.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Lynn Cecil Whitford

    Born 1947; from Crown Point, New York. U.S. Army, grader operator; killed in action 1969 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Kate Whitford

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Caledonia from Glasgow, aged 19; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 675 records for Whitford in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia576 records

576 records of the Whitford name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 315
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 164
  • Other Australian records 97
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Joseph Whitford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Royal George, sailing from London in 1830. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1837. Married 1837 in Sorell, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Whitford

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Fitzjames, aged 39; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Stanley M. Whitford

    Spring maker of Hawthorn, Victoria; died 1951.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 576 records for Whitford in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada132 records

132 records of the Whitford name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 93
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 18
  • Other Canadian records 21
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Walter G. Whitford

    Buried in 1992 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 73.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Rosana Margaret Whitford

    Died 1923 in Chester, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William Whitford

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 132 records for Whitford in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the Whitford name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 23
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edward Whitford

    Died 1900, aged 58; buried at Lyttelton Public Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Emanuel Whitford

    Buried in 1900 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 42.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph Whitford

    Died 1892, aged 19; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Whitford in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Whitford name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Whitford

    Will proved in 1895; of Colwyn, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Whitford

    Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Whitford in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Whitford.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Whitford is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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