# 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