# Whitaker (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/whitaker/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 56,616 |
| US rank (2010) | 596 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,453 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.2% (54,343 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɪ.tə.kəɹ/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English *Hwītæcer (literally “white-acre”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Whitaker in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 71% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 24% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Whitaker in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

## People named Whitaker

- Forest Whitaker, American actor
- Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (1964–2019)
- Denzel Whitaker, American actor
- Johnny Whitaker, American actor
- Matthew Whitaker, American lawyer and politician
- John Whitaker, British equestrian
- Duane Whitaker, American actor
- Michael Whitaker, British equestrian
- Nick Whitaker, American actor (1988-)
- Slim Whitaker, actor (1893-1960)
- Chico Whitaker, Brazilian architect, politician and activist
- Ewen Whitaker, British astronomer

and 2 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Whittaker, Whitacre, Whiteaker, Witcher, Whitcher, Whitchurch, Wadsworth, Wedgeworth, Widger.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.