Whitt
Of English origin derived from the nickname "White".
Name Census estimates that about 331 living Americans carry the first name Whitt. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Whitt today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Whitt births was 2022 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Whitt. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
331
~ 1 in 1,035,512 Americans
Peak year
2022
34 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,050
Tracked since 1918
Census
Whitt in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 344 people with the first name Whitt, which placed it at #26,849 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,849
National first-name rank
People counted
344
344 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whitt
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Whitt is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Whitt described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Whitt at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 298
- Black or African American10.2% · 35
- Two or more races2.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 3
Popularity
Whitt: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Whitt from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 127 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Whitt by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Whitt during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Whitts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Whitt
The given name Whitt finds its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "hwit," which means "white" or "bright." This name likely originated as a descriptive name, given to individuals with fair complexions or light-colored hair.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name appears in various ancient Anglo-Saxon chronicles and records, often referring to individuals from the regions of present-day England and parts of eastern Scotland. It was a common practice in those times to assign names based on physical characteristics or attributes.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Whitt was Hwit of Hwicce, a minor Anglo-Saxon ruler who lived in the 7th century. He governed a small territory known as the Kingdom of Hwicce, which was located in the modern-day counties of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.
In the 9th century, a notable figure named Whitt the Wise was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. He was a renowned scholar and advisor to King Alfred the Great, known for his wisdom and knowledge of the ancient texts.
During the Middle Ages, the name Whitt appeared in several religious texts and ecclesiastical records. One such example is Whitt of Evesham, a Benedictine monk who lived in the 12th century and was known for his contributions to the arts and literature.
As time progressed, the name Whitt continued to be used, albeit with varying spellings and regional variations. In the 16th century, Sir Whitt Raleigh was a prominent English explorer and courtier who played a significant role in the colonization of Virginia and the establishment of the first English settlements in the Americas.
Another notable figure was Whitt Whitefield, an English Anglican cleric and evangelist who lived from 1714 to 1770. He was a prominent figure in the Methodist movement and known for his powerful preaching and the establishment of several educational institutions.
Throughout history, the name Whitt has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, politicians, and military leaders. Its enduring presence across centuries and cultures is a testament to its rich heritage and the diverse backgrounds of those who have carried this name.
People
Whitt + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Whitt as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Whitt: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Whitt?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Whitt going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,035,512 US residents.
Is Whitt a common name?
We classify Whitt as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Whitt most popular?
The single biggest year for Whitt was 2022, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Whitt is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Whitt in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 344 people with the name Whitt, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,849 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Whitt in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Whitt?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Whitt leans strongly male. 343 people counted with this name were male (96.9%), compared with 11 female bearers (3.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Whitt?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Whitt is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Whitt most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Whitt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (298 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Whitt in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Whitt a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Whitt in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Whitt still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Whitt in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Whitt can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Whitt as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.