Show ContentsWhitehall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Whitehall

What does the name Whitehall mean?

The Whitehall surname derives from the Old English words "hwit," meaning "white," and "heall," meaning "a hall," or large house. Thus as a surname, Whitehall was likely first used by someone who lived or worked in such a building. One such building was the palace of Whitehall, London, the main residence of the English monarch from 1530 to 1698.

Early Origins of the Whitehall family

The surname Whitehall was first found in Staffordshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire.

Early History of the Whitehall family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitehall research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1093, 1153, 1332, 1455, 1486, 1487, 1510, 1537, 1556, 1600, 1616, 1625, 1658, 1685 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Whitehall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitehall Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whitehall, Withall, Withalgh, Whitehail, Whitehal, Wittal, Wittall, Whitehale, Whitehell and many more.

Early Notables of the Whitehall family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Robert Whitehall (1625-1685), was an English poetaster, second son of Robert Whitehall of Sharpcliffe, Staffordshire. He was "born at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, early in 1625, and was baptised there o...
  • Nathaniel Whitehall, was listed in the Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London of 1694 and the Whitehall-Davies family of Broughton Hall, Flintshire and Llannerch, Denbighshire is of particu...


Whitehall migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whitehall Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Howell Whitehall, a servant sent from Bristol to America in 1658
  • Symon Whitehall, who landed in Maryland in 1670 1
  • Charles Whitehall, who landed in Maryland in 1671 1
Whitehall Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Richard Whitehall, who settled in Virginia in 1717
  • Richard Whitehall, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 1
  • John Whitehall, who settled in Annapolis, Maryland in 1723

Whitehall migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Whitehall Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Whitehall, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, London, England for life, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 2

Whitehall migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3
Whitehall Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Stephen Whitehall, who settled in Barbados or Jamaica in 1684

Contemporary Notables of the name Whitehall (post 1700) +

  • Alexander Whitehall, American Captain, Continental Army during the War of the Revolution (1775-83)
  • J. C. Whitehall, American politician, Mayor of Zephyrhills, Florida, 1917-18 4
  • Ivan G Whitehall, Canadian lawyer, Chief General Counsel of the Department of Justice (1989-2003)
  • Hilary Whitehall Putnam (1926-2016), American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist, Cogan University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, awarded the 2011 Rolf Schock Prize in Logic and Philosophy


  1. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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