Whitehead (surname)

Whitehead is a surname. Recorded in a number of spellings including Whithead, Whitehed, Whithed, and Whitsed, this surname is of English origins. It usually derives from the Old English pre–7th century word "hwit" meaning white, plus "heafod", a head, combined to form a descriptive nickname for someone with white hair.

Notable people with the surname include:


 * Adam Whitehead (born 1980), British swimmer
 * Adrian Whitehead (born 1975), Australian rules footballer
 * Agathe Whitehead (1891–1922), British heiress, first wife of Georg von Trapp of the Trapp Family Singers
 * Alan Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), British philosopher and mathematician
 * Alfred Whitehead (1887–1974), English composer, organist, choirmaster and music educator, active in Canada
 * Annie Whitehead (born 1955), English jazz trombone player
 * Axle Whitehead (born 1980), Australian entertainer
 * Barb Whitehead (born 1961), American golfer
 * Ben Whitehead (born 1977), English voice actor
 * Bob Whitehead (born 1953), American game designer and programmer
 * Bob Whitehead (soccer), 20th century American soccer player
 * Bruce Whitehead, American politician
 * Bud Whitehead (born 1939), American football player
 * Bus Whitehead (1928–2010), American basketball player
 * Burgess Whitehead (1910–1993), American baseball player
 * Charles Whitehead (1804–1862), English poet, novelist and dramatist
 * Charlie Whitehead (footballer) (1899-1972), Australian rules footballer
 * Chris Whitehead (born 1986), English rugby union player
 * Christian Whitehead, Australian video game developer
 * Chryssie Whitehead American actress, singer and dancer
 * Cindy Whitehead (born 1962), American skateboarder
 * Clay T. Whitehead (1938–2008), United States government official in charge of telecommunications
 * Clive Whitehead (born 1955), English footballer - Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion
 * Colson Whitehead (born 1969), American author
 * David Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Dean Whitehead (born 1982), English footballer
 * Derek Whitehead (born 1944), English rugby league footballer
 * Don Whitehead (1908–1981), American journalist
 * Donald R. Whitehead (1938–1990), American entomologist
 * Donald S. Whitehead (1888-1957), American politician from Idaho
 * Edward Whitehead (1908–1978), spokesman and later president of Schweppes
 * E. T. Whitehead (1890–1956), British political activist
 * Edgar Whitehead (1905–1971), Rhodesian politician
 * Elliott Whitehead (born 1989), English rugby league player
 * Emily Whitehead (born 2000), Australian artistic gymnast
 * Ennis Whitehead (1895–1964), Lieutenant General U.S. Air Force
 * Fionn Whitehead (born 1996/1997), English actor
 * Frances Whitehead (1925–2019), British secretary and personal assistant to John Stott
 * Frank Whitehead (Canadian politician), Canadian politician
 * Frank Whitehead (mayor) (1892–1976), American politician from Florida
 * Frederick Whitehead, (1853–1938), English landscape artist and illustrator
 * Frederick Wilson Whitehead, (1863–1926), English organist, composer and music teacher
 * Gary Whitehead (born 1965), American poet and painter
 * Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1939), English actor
 * George Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Gillian Whitehead (born 1941), New Zealand composer
 * Graham Whitehead (1922–1981), British racing driver
 * Gregory Whitehead, American writer, radiomaker and audio artist
 * Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927), aviation pioneer who claimed to have made the first powered airplane flight
 * Hal Whitehead, Canadian biologist
 * Henry Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Hugh Whitehead (died 1551), prior of the Benedictine monastery at Durham, England
 * Ian Whitehead (born 1946), Scottish footballer and manager
 * J. Gordon Whitehead (1895–1954), a man who punched Houdini before the magician could brace himself, which is speculated to have caused Houdini's death
 * J. H. C. Whitehead (1904–1960), British mathematician
 * Jamal Whitehead, American lawyer
 * James Whitehead (disambiguation) (including Jim and Jimmy), multiple people
 * Jason John Whitehead, Canadian stand-up comedian, active in Britain
 * Jay Whitehead (born 1959), American author and publisher
 * Jef "Wrest" Whitehead (born 1989), American Metal Musician & Tattoo artist
 * Jennifer Whitehead (born 1977), American volleyball player and coach
 * Jermaine Whitehead (born 1993), American football player
 * Jerome Whitehead (1956–2012), American basketball player
 * John Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Jonathan Whitehead (1960–2020), English composer
 * Jordan Whitehead (born 1997), American football player
 * Joseph Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Lees Whitehead (1864–1913), English cricketer
 * Lucky Whitehead (born 1992), American football player
 * Luke Whitehead (born 1981), American basketball player
 * Luther Whitehead (1869–1931), English cricketer
 * Martha Whitehead, Texas State Treasurer
 * Max Whitehead (1923–2010), Australian rugby league footballer
 * Maxey Whitehead (born 1985), American voice actress
 * Mike Whitehead (born 1981), American mixed martial arts fighter
 * Milt Whitehead (1862–1901), Canadian baseball player
 * Neville Whitehead (bassist), New Zealand jazz bassist and luthier
 * Nick Whitehead (1933–2002), Welsh sprinter
 * Nikki Whitehead (1975–2010), American mother murdered by her twin daughters Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah
 * Nicole Whitehead (born 1980), American model and Playboy Playmate
 * Norman Whitehead (1915–1983, English landscape painter
 * O.Z. Whitehead (1911–1998), American actor and author
 * Paul Whitehead, British painter and graphic artist
 * Paxton Whitehead (1937–2023), British actor
 * Peter Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Phil Whitehead (born 1969), English footballer
 * Phillip Whitehead (1937–2005), British politician, television producer and writer
 * R. Whitehead (cricketer), English cricketer between 1785 and 1800
 * Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead (1854–1929), founder of the Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony, New York
 * Rex Whitehead (1948–2014), Australian cricket umpire
 * Richard Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Robert Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Ron Whitehead, American poet
 * Rowland Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Stanley Whitehead (1911–1976), New Zealand politician
 * Stanley Whitehead (physicist) (1902–1956), British physicist
 * Steve Whitehead (born 1960), English photorealist painter
 * Stuart Whitehead (born 1976), English footballer
 * Tahir Whitehead (born 1990), American football player
 * Terrell Whitehead (born 1988), American football player
 * Terrence Whitehead (born 1983), American football player
 * Thomas Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Þór Whitehead (Thor Whitehead) (born 1943), Icelandic historian
 * Thora Whitehead (1936–2021), Australian shell collector and malacologist
 * Tim Whitehead (ice hockey) (born 1961), American ice hockey coach
 * Tim Whitehead (rugby player) (born 1988), South African rugby union player
 * William Whitehead (disambiguation) (including Willie), multiple people
 * Walter Whitehead (1840–1913), English surgeon