Whitfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Whitfield family

The surname Whitfield 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 Whitfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitfield research.

Whitfield Spelling Variations

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

Early Notables of the Whitfield family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Henry Whitefield, Archdeacon of Barnstaple from 1371 to 1384; and Thomas Whitefield (fl. 1378-1401), an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Hereford in 1378 and 1401. 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 Sheen and of Mortlake. In 1639 Whitfield, who had become a nonconformist.

Whitfield Ranking

In the United States, the name Whitfield is the 936^th most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. [4] However, in the United Kingdom, the name Whitfield is ranked the 741^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,037 people with that name. [5]

 Migration of the Whitfield family to Ireland

Some of the Whitfield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Whitfield migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Whitfield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Gilbert Whitfield, aged 23, who landed in Virginia in 1621 aboard the ship “Flying Hart” [6]
• John Whitfield, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship “Globe” [6]
• Henry Whitfield, who arrived in New England in 1639 [6]
• Thomas Whitfield, who landed in Maryland in 1661 [6]
• William Whitfield, who landed in Maryland in 1668 [6]

Whitfield Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Edward Whitfield, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1707 [6]
• William Whitfield, who arrived in New England in 1709 [6]
• Susanna Whitfield, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 [6]
• Joshua Whitfield, who arrived in America in 1764 [6]

Whitfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Nicholas Whitfield, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1832 [6]
• George T Whitfield, who arrived in New York in 1834 [6]
• S Whitfield, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [6]
• James Whitfield, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1878 [6]

 Whitfield migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Whitfield Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

• Richard Whitfield, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

 Whitfield migration to Australia+

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

Whitfield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Mr. William Gibson Whitfield, (b. 1795), aged 20, English clerk who was convicted in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England for life for receiving stolen goods, transported aboard the “Baring” in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1828 [7]
• Mr. Christopher Whitfield, English convict who was convicted in Ripon, Yorkshire, Englandfor 7 years, transported aboard the “Bengal Merchant” on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [8]
• Mr. Frederick Whitfield, English convict who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, Englandfor 7 years, transported aboard the “Earl Grey” on 27th July 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [9]
• W. Whitfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship “Duke of Roxburghe” in 1838 [10]
• Ann Whitfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship “Trafalgar” in 1849 [11]

 Whitfield migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: 

Whitfield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

• Mr. Whitfield, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship “Earl of Lonsdale” arriving in Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand on 11th April 1841 [12]
• Mr. W. Whitfield, Australian settler travelling from Sydney, Australia aboard the ship “Bright Planet” arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 11th June 1842 [12]
• John Whitfield, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship “Persia” in 1860
• Mr. Thomas Whitfield, (b. 1817), aged 51, British printer travelling from London aboard the ship “Light Brigade” arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th August 1868 [12]
• Mrs. Susannah Whitfield, (b. 1820), aged 48, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship “Light Brigade” arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th August 1868 [12]

 Whitfield 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. [13]

Whitfield Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

• Jane Whitfield, aged 21, who arrived in Jamaica in 1684 [6]

Contemporary Notables of the name Whitfield (post 1700) +

• Malvin Greston “Mal” Whitfield (1924-2015), American member of the Tuskegee Airmen, Olympic champion in the 800 metres at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics, father of CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield, inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974
• Dondré Terrell Whitfield (b. 1969), American three-time Daytime Emmy Award winning actor, known for his performance on All My Children
• Mitchell Whitfield (b. 1964), American actor and voice actor from Brooklyn, New York
• Lynn Whitfield (b. 1953), née Butler-Smith, an American Primetime Emmy Award winning and Golden Globe nominated actress and producer
• Fredricka Whitfield (b. 1965), American news anchor for CNN, daughter of Olympian Mal Whitfield
• Albert H. Whitfield, American politician, Justice of Mississippi State Supreme Court, 1894-1910; Chief Justice of Mississippi State Supreme Court, 1900-10
• Thomas Anthony Whitfield (1954-1992), American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger and pianist
• Evan Dylan Whitfield (b. 1977), retired American soccer player
• Terry Bertland Whitfield (b. 1953), American former Major League Baseball player
• Brent Whitfield (b. 1981), American soccer player