The Whitson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,273 people carried this name — #3,820 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 31,800 people counted. That is up 1% from 9,150 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Whitson surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as an English name: ‘White's Son’.

Or a name given to one born on Whitsunday. An early record he cites: William Wytesoneday, Hundred Rolls.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 283 · public domain.

In print

Whitson in American newspapers,
1914–1917.

Newspaper page from The City Itemizer carrying the name Whitson
The City Itemizer 1917-09-27
Newspaper page from The City Itemizer carrying the name Whitson
The City Itemizer 1914-05-14
Newspaper page from The City Itemizer carrying the name Whitson
The City Itemizer 1914-05-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 29,205 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Whitson in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

2,085 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Whitson. The most, 487, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 827
New South Wales 741
Queensland 395
South Australia 78
Tasmania 30
Western Australia 13

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

Who carried it

People named Whitson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Whitson
    John Whitson 1557–1629 · politician
  • John Whitson
    John Whitson 1558–1629 · politician
  • Edward Whitson
    Edward Whitson 1852–1910 · judge
  • J. T. Whitson
    J. T. Whitson 1853– · physician
  • Gordon Whitson d. 1974
  • Benjamin Whitson 1759– · writer

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 Whitson,
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 States618 records

618 records of the Whitson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 315
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 130
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 101
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 13
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 12
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Mansfield E. Whitson

    Born 1923 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest; farm hand from White County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Robinson Chapel Cemetery, Sparta, Tennessee.

    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 John Byron Whitson

    Born 1932; from Spenard, Alaska. U.S. Marine Corps; killed in action 1953 in Korea. Buried at San Francisco National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Ann Whitson

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Champion from Glasgow, aged 21; servant. From Scotland.

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

Showing 3 of 618 records for Whitson in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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). 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).

Australia167 records

167 records of the Whitson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 97
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 41
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 27
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robert Whitson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Koh-I-Noor, aged 20; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Joseph Whitson

    Arrived in Queensland in 1877 aboard the Rodell Bay, aged 3.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Robert W. Whitson

    Wheelwright of Terang, Victoria; died 1937.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 167 records for Whitson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

United Kingdom11 records

11 records of the Whitson name in the United Kingdom
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 4
  • Stirling Council burial records 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Whitson

    Died 1961, aged 28; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Whitson

    Born 1884. Died 1918. Named in the George Heriot's School roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. G. Whitson

    Ilsh Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 11 records for Whitson in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Whitson name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Doris Ada Whitson

    Buried in 1978 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. 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 Bruce Franklin Whitson

    Died in service in 1954.

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

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for Whitson in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Whitson name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Mary Whitson

    In the population register of Vlissingen; born 1864 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Vlissingen (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Whitson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Whitson 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.

See the Whitson volume
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