Show ContentsWhitfiel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Whitfiel family

The surname Whitfiel was first found in Northumberland at Whitfield, a parish, in the union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward where "this place was for six centuries the property of the Whitfield family, to whom the Countess Ada, widow of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, and mother of William the Lion, King of Scotland, made a grant of it in fee, with the exception of some lands to be held under the convent of Hexham; shortly after which, the family had a grant from that establishment of nearly all Whitfield." 1

Due to the literal translation of the surname to "dweller by the white field," 2 there are many other place name in both common spellings, Whitefield and Whitfield; too many to list here. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Margery de Wytefled in Oxfordshire; and Peter de Whytefled in Norfolk. 3

Early History of the Whitfiel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitfiel research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1371, 1378, 1384, 1401, 1619, 1634, 1639, 1646, 1650, 1660, 1684, 1685, 1688, 1705, 1712 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Whitfiel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitfiel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whytefield, Whitfield, Whitefield, Whitefeild and others.

Early Notables of the Whitfiel family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

  • Henry Whitfield or Whitefield (d. 1660?), was an English divine, said to have been second son of Ralph Whitfeld of Gray's Inn. "He was more probably son of Thomas Whitfeld, lord of the manor of East S...

Migration of the Whitfiel family to Ireland

Some of the Whitfiel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 146 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Whitfiel family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Barbara Whitefield who settled in Virginia in 1685; Richard Whitefield settled in Virginia in 1635; Gilbert Whitfeild settled in Georgia in 1623; John Whitfeild settled in Barbados in 1660.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)


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