2000
#721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,310
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.05
Uncommon Last name
Whitehead
A descriptive surname referring to someone with very fair or prematurely white hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 48,265 Americans carry the last name Whitehead. That puts it at #800 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,102 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whitehead surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Whitehead with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
48K
1 in 7,102
Census rank
#800
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
42K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 42,089 bearers of the surname Whitehead in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 800th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whitehead, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Whitehead
The surname Whitehead is an English surname derived from the Middle English words "white" and "head," referring to someone with light-colored hair or a pale complexion. It originated in the 13th century and was initially used as a nickname or descriptive name before becoming a hereditary surname.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Whitehead can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, England, dating back to 1273, where it is listed as "Whythed." Over time, various spelling variations emerged, such as Whythed, Whithede, and Whytehede, before settling on the modern form of Whitehead.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and their properties commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct references to the surname Whitehead. However, some entries mention individuals with the first name "Whit" or "White," which may have been precursors to the later development of the Whitehead surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Whitehead throughout history include:
1. George Whitehead (1636-1723), an English Quaker leader and influential writer during the 17th century.
2. Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), an English mathematician and philosopher who co-authored the influential work "Principia Mathematica" with Bertrand Russell.
3. Jesse Whitehead (1719-1785), an American Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman from Virginia.
4. William Whitehead (1715-1785), an English poet and playwright who served as the Poet Laureate of Great Britain from 1757 until his death.
5. John Whitehead (1924-1988), an English actor and comedian best known for his roles in the Carry On film series and television shows like "Steptoe and Son."
The surname Whitehead has been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Whitehead in Lancashire, which was recorded as "Quitheved" in the 13th century, and Whitehead in Yorkshire, which appeared as "Whiteheved" in the 14th century. These place names likely contributed to the further establishment and spread of the Whitehead surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whitehead
Among Census respondents with the surname Whitehead, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Whitehead bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Whitehead surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.7% · 28,488
- Black or African American23.1% · 9,737
- Two or more races4.8% · 2,010
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,352
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 264
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 238
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whitehead
Whitehead appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,373
+1,063 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 15.04
Rank movement Down 55 places
2020
#800
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,089
-2,284 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 14.08
Rank movement Down 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #721 | 43,310 | 16.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #776 | 44,373 | 15.04 | +1,063 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 55 places |
| 2020 | #800 | 42,089 | 14.08 | -2,284 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 24 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Whitehead surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #776 | #800 | -3.1% |
| Count | 44,373 | 42,089 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 15.04 | 14.08 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whitehead bearers went from 44,373 to 42,089 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #776 to #800.
FAQ
Whitehead surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whitehead?
Name Census estimates that about 48,265 living Americans carry the surname Whitehead. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,102 residents.
How common is Whitehead?
Whitehead ranks #800 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 42,089 people with the surname Whitehead. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (48,265), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Whitehead.
Has Whitehead become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whitehead went from 44,373 recorded bearers to 42,089. That is a decrease of 2,284 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #776 to #800.
What does the Census say about the background of Whitehead?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whitehead, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Whitehead in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.7% (28,488 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whitehead appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.7%), Black (23.1%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Whitehead (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Whitehead mean?
A descriptive surname referring to someone with very fair or prematurely white hair. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Whitehead (14.08 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Whitehead?
Want to know how common the surname Whitehead is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.