Whitehead (surname)

Whitehead is a surname. Recorded in a number of spellings including Whithead, Whitehed, Whithed, and Whitsed, this surname is of English origins. It usually derives from the Old English pre–7th century word "hwit" meaning white, plus "heafod", a head, combined to form a descriptive nickname for someone with white hair.

Notable people with the surname include:

• Adam Whitehead (born 1980), British swimmer
• Adrian Whitehead (born 1975), Australian rules footballer
• Agathe Whitehead (1891–1922), British heiress, first wife of Georg von Trapp of the Trapp Family Singers
• Alan Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), British philosopher and mathematician
• Alfred Whitehead (1887–1974), English composer, organist, choirmaster and music educator, active in Canada
• Annie Whitehead (born 1955), English jazz trombone player
• Axle Whitehead (born 1980), Australian entertainer
• Barb Whitehead (born 1961), American golfer
• Ben Whitehead (born 1977), English voice actor
• Bob Whitehead (born 1953), American game designer and programmer
• Bob Whitehead (soccer), 20th century American soccer player
• Bruce Whitehead, American politician
• Bud Whitehead (born 1939), American football player
• Bus Whitehead (1928–2010), American basketball player
• Burgess Whitehead (1910–1993), American baseball player
• Charles Whitehead (1804–1862), English poet, novelist and dramatist
• Charlie Whitehead (footballer) (1899-1972), Australian rules footballer
• Chris Whitehead (born 1986), English rugby union player
• Christian Whitehead, Australian video game developer
• Chryssie Whitehead American actress, singer and dancer
• Cindy Whitehead (born 1962), American skateboarder
• Clay T. Whitehead (1938–2008), United States government official in charge of telecommunications
• Clive Whitehead (born 1955), English footballer - Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion
• Colson Whitehead (born 1969), American author
• David Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Dean Whitehead (born 1982), English footballer
• Derek Whitehead (born 1944), English rugby league footballer
• Don Whitehead (1908–1981), American journalist
• Donald R. Whitehead (1938–1990), American entomologist
• Donald S. Whitehead (1888-1957), American politician from Idaho
• Edward Whitehead (1908–1978), spokesman and later president of Schweppes
• E. T. Whitehead (1890–1956), British political activist
• Edgar Whitehead (1905–1971), Rhodesian politician
• Elliott Whitehead (born 1989), English rugby league player
• Emily Whitehead (born 2000), Australian artistic gymnast
• Ennis Whitehead (1895–1964), Lieutenant General U.S. Air Force
• Fionn Whitehead (born 1996/1997), English actor
• Frances Whitehead (1925–2019), British secretary and personal assistant to John Stott
• Frank Whitehead (Canadian politician), Canadian politician
• Frank Whitehead (mayor) (1892–1976), American politician from Florida
• Frederick Whitehead, (1853–1938), English landscape artist and illustrator
• Frederick Wilson Whitehead, (1863–1926), English organist, composer and music teacher
• Gary Whitehead (born 1965), American poet and painter
• Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1939), English actor
• George Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Gillian Whitehead (born 1941), New Zealand composer
• Graham Whitehead (1922–1981), British racing driver
• Gregory Whitehead, American writer, radiomaker and audio artist
• Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927), aviation pioneer who claimed to have made the first powered airplane flight
• Hal Whitehead, Canadian biologist
• Henry Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Hugh Whitehead (died 1551), prior of the Benedictine monastery at Durham, England
• Ian Whitehead (born 1946), Scottish footballer and manager
• J. Gordon Whitehead (1895–1954), a man who punched Houdini before the magician could brace himself, which is speculated to have caused Houdini's death
• J. H. C. Whitehead (1904–1960), British mathematician
• Jamal Whitehead, American lawyer
• James Whitehead (disambiguation) (including Jim and Jimmy), multiple people
• Jason John Whitehead, Canadian stand-up comedian, active in Britain
• Jay Whitehead (born 1959), American author and publisher
• Jef "Wrest" Whitehead (born 1989), American Metal Musician & Tattoo artist
• Jennifer Whitehead (born 1977), American volleyball player and coach
• Jermaine Whitehead (born 1993), American football player
• Jerome Whitehead (1956–2012), American basketball player
• John Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Jonathan Whitehead (1960–2020), English composer
• Jordan Whitehead (born 1997), American football player
• Joseph Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Lees Whitehead (1864–1913), English cricketer
• Lucky Whitehead (born 1992), American football player
• Luke Whitehead (born 1981), American basketball player
• Luther Whitehead (1869–1931), English cricketer
• Martha Whitehead, Texas State Treasurer
• Max Whitehead (1923–2010), Australian rugby league footballer
• Maxey Whitehead (born 1985), American voice actress
• Mike Whitehead (born 1981), American mixed martial arts fighter
• Milt Whitehead (1862–1901), Canadian baseball player
• Neville Whitehead (bassist), New Zealand jazz bassist and luthier
• Nick Whitehead (1933–2002), Welsh sprinter
• Nikki Whitehead (1975–2010), American mother murdered by her twin daughters Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah
• Nicole Whitehead (born 1980), American model and Playboy Playmate
• Norman Whitehead (1915–1983, English landscape painter
• O.Z. Whitehead (1911–1998), American actor and author
• Paul Whitehead, British painter and graphic artist
• Paxton Whitehead (1937–2023), British actor
• Peter Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Phil Whitehead (born 1969), English footballer
• Phillip Whitehead (1937–2005), British politician, television producer and writer
• R. Whitehead (cricketer), English cricketer between 1785 and 1800
• Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead (1854–1929), founder of the Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony, New York
• Rex Whitehead (1948–2014), Australian cricket umpire
• Richard Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Robert Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Ron Whitehead, American poet
• Rowland Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Stanley Whitehead (1911–1976), New Zealand politician
• Stanley Whitehead (physicist) (1902–1956), British physicist
• Steve Whitehead (born 1960), English photorealist painter
• Stuart Whitehead (born 1976), English footballer
• Tahir Whitehead (born 1990), American football player
• Terrell Whitehead (born 1988), American football player
• Terrence Whitehead (born 1983), American football player
• Thomas Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
• Þór Whitehead (Thor Whitehead) (born 1943), Icelandic historian
• Thora Whitehead (1936–2021), Australian shell collector and malacologist
• Tim Whitehead (ice hockey) (born 1961), American ice hockey coach
• Tim Whitehead (rugby player) (born 1988), South African rugby union player
• William Whitehead (disambiguation) (including Willie), multiple people
• Walter Whitehead (1840–1913), English surgeon

See also

• Whitehead baronets
• Whitehead (disambiguation)
• Weißhaupt, surname
• Weißkopf, surname