Whittaker is a surname of English origin, meaning 'white acre', and a given name. Variants include

Whitaker Whitaker (also Whittaker) is a surname of English and Scottish origin, meaning the white acre, also spelled "Whittaker" and "Whitacre (disambiguation), Whitacre." Notable people with the surname include: People with the name * The Whitaker iron ...

and Whitacre. People with the name include:

Surname

A

Aaron Whittaker Aaron Whittaker (born 9 July 1968) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative halfback, he played club football in Australia, England and New Zealand. Early years Whittaker grew up ...

(born 1968), New Zealand rugby player *

Al Whittaker Al Whittaker (1918 – September 27, 2006) founded the non-profit organization Opportunity International and helped to popularize microcredit lending. In 1971, Whittaker left his job as president of Bristol Myers to found the Institute for Inter ...

(1918–2006), American business organizer *

Alison Whittaker Alison Whittaker is an Aboriginal Australian poet and academic of the Gomeroi people. She is a writer and a senior researcher at the University of Technology Sydney. Early life and education Alison Whittaker's mother is Gomeroi and her father a ...

, Australian poet *

Allien Whittaker Allien Whittaker (born 19 June 1983) is a Jamaican retired footballer.Andrew Whittaker (engineer) (born 1956), American engineer *

Andy Whittaker Paul Andrew Whittaker (born January 1967) is the founder of the British film distributor Dogwoof, which focuses on films about social issues and documentaries, such as '' Food, Inc.'' and '' Burma VJ''. On 24 September 2010, The Guardian publish ...

, British film distributor * Anthony Whittaker (born 1968), American composer * Arnie Whittaker (1879–1955), English footballer

B

* Ben Whittaker (born 1989), Australian rugby union footballer * Benjamin Whittaker (born 1997), English boxer * Bernard Whittaker (1865–??), English footballer * Bill Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people * Bob Whittaker (born 1939), American politician *

Brian Whittaker Brian Whittaker (23 September 1956 – 7 September 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Partick Thistle, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk. Career Left-back Whittaker came to prominence whilst playing over 350 ga ...

(1956–1997), Scottish footballer

C

* Charles Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people *

Craig Whittaker Craig Whittaker (born 30 August 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Calder Valley from 2010 to 2024. He served as Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household from ...

(born 1962), British politician * Cynthia Whittaker (1942–2023), American academic

D

Dale Whittaker A. Dale Whittaker (born August 13, 1961) is an American academic and senior program officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He was the fifth president of the University of Central Florida. He succeeded former president John Hitt in 2018 ...

(born 1961), American academic administrator *

David Whittaker (disambiguation) David Whittaker may refer to: * David Whittaker (cricketer) (1857–1901), English cricketer * David Whittaker (video game composer) (born 1957), British video game composer * David A. Whittaker (born 1952), American sound editor See also * David W ...

, multiple people *

Desmond Whittaker Desmond Whittaker (9 September 1925 – 1966) was an Indian cricketer. He played one first-class match for Bengal in 1954/55. See also * List of Bengal cricketers This is a list of all cricketers who have played in first-class, List A ...

(1925–1966), Indian cricketer *

Dick Whittaker Richard Whittaker (10 October 1934 in Dublin – 1998) was an Irish professional football player. He was a right back who joined Chelsea in London in 1952, as a professional having played for Chelsea youth team, from St. Mary's B.C. He playe ...

(1934–1998), Irish footballer

E

Edgar Whittaker Edgar Whittaker was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made one appearance for Burnley in the Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English ...

, English footballer *

Edwin Whittaker Edwin Whittaker (4 December 1834 – 25 June 1880) was an English cricketer active from 1863 to 1868 who played for Lancashire. He was born in Ashton-under-Lyne and died in Matlock. He appeared in 14 first-class matches as a righthanded batsman ...

(1834–1880), English cricketer *

Enos Whittaker Enos Whittaker (1888–1959) was an English footballer who played for Clapton Orient, Exeter City and Stoke. Career Whittaker was born in Nelson but began his career with Southern Football League side Exeter City Exeter City Football Club ...

(1888–1959), English footballer *

Esmé Whittaker Esmé Whittaker is a British art historian and curator of art collections at English Heritage. Whittaker attended the University of Bristol, obtaining a bachelor's degree in art. She received a master's degree, and then a doctorate from the Court ...

, British art historian *

E. T. Whittaker Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker (24 October 1873 – 24 March 1956) was a British mathematician, physicist, and historian of science. Whittaker was a leading mathematical scholar of the early 20th century who contributed widely to applied mathemat ...

(1873–1956), English mathematician

F

Fozzy Whittaker Foswhitt Jer'ald "Fozzy" Whittaker (born February 2, 1989) is an American former professional football player and current college football color analyst. Whittaker was a running back and kick returner for six seasons in the National Football L ...

(born 1989), American football player *

Frank Whittaker Frank Whittaker (born 1894;Rajaiah David Paul, ''The First Decade: An Account of the Church of South India'', The Christian Literature Society, Chennai, 1958, p.26/ref> died 1961''The Church of South India, The Indian Missionary Society, Madras, ...

(1894–1961), Indian bishop * Fred Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people

G

Gavin Whittaker Gavin Whittaker (13 January 1970 – 6 January 2017) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played for Canterbury-Bankstown and the Gold Coast. Background Whittaker was born on 13 January 1970 in Pittsworth town in Q ...

(1970–2017), Australian rugby league footballer * Geoff Whittaker (1916–1997), English cricketer *

Geoffrey Owen Whittaker Geoffrey Owen Whittaker, OBE (10 January 1932 – 24 February 2015) was a British civil servant. He served as the Governor of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla from 1987 until 1989. Second son of Alfred James Whittaker (d. 1971) and Gert ...

(1932–2015), British civil servant * George Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people

H

* Harvey Whittaker (1875–1937), English footballer * Huey Whittaker (born 1981), American football player

I

* Ian Whittaker (1928–2022), British set designer * Ike Whittaker (born 1935), Australian footballer

J

Jace Whittaker Jace Whittaker (born July 16, 1995) is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football at Arizona and was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Professional career Arizona Cardinals Whitta ...

(born 1995), American football player * Jack Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people * James Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people * Jason Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people * Jeff Whittaker (born 1940), New Zealand politician *

Jim Whittaker James W. Whittaker (born February 10, 1929), also known as Jim Whittaker, is an American climber and mountain guide. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington. On May 1, 1963, he became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest as ...

(born 1929), American mountaineer *

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

(born 1982), English actress * John Macnaghten Whittaker (1905-1984), British mathematician, son of

Edmund Taylor Whittaker Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker (24 October 1873 – 24 March 1956) was a British mathematician, physicist, and historian of science. Whittaker was a leading mathematical scholar of the early 20th century who contributed widely to applied mathemat ...

* John Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people * Johnson Chesnut Whittaker (1858–1931), American military student * Joseph Whittaker (1813–1894), English botanist

K

* Kai Whittaker (born 1985), German politician

L

* Leon Whittaker (born 1985), Caymanian footballer *

Lou Whittaker Louis Winslow Whittaker (February 10, 1929 – March 24, 2024) was an American mountaineer, mountain guide, and businessman. He and his twin brother, Jim Whittaker, also a renowned mountaineer and guide, were born and raised in Seattle. Biogra ...

(1929–2024), American mountaineer

M

Maria Whittaker Maria Whittaker (born 7 October 1968), also known as Maria Tafari, is a former glamour model, Page 3 girl, and pop singer. Modelling career Born on 7 October 1969 in Hounslow, Middlesex, Whittaker has described herself as a shy teenager. She ...

(born 1969), English glamour model *

Mark Whittaker Mark Cornelius Whittaker (born 29 July 1965Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 214) is an Australian journalist, non-fiction writer and writing coach. He lives in Berry, New South Wales. Early life Whittake ...

(born 1965), Australian journalist *

Meredith Whittaker Meredith Whittaker is the president of the Signal Foundation and serves on its board of directors. She was formerly the Minderoo Research Professor at New York University (NYU), and chief advisor and former faculty director & co founder of the ...

, American researcher * Michael Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people * Morgan Whittaker (born 2001), English footballer

N

Neil Whittaker Neil Whittaker (born 10 September 1956) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s for Balmain Tigers, Balmain in the NSWRL competition. Whittaker was also the chief executive officer of the N ...

(born 1956), Australian rugby union footballer *

Nicholas Whittaker Nicholas Whittaker (born 1953) is a British writer of non-fiction books on popular culture, often incorporating autobiographical extracts from his own life. He was born in Shrewsbury and lived in Burton upon Trent until 1975. Whittaker has worked ...

(born 1953), British writer * Noel Whittaker (born 1940), Australian columnist

P

* Paul Whittaker (born 1957), Australian cricketer *

Paul Whittaker (newspaper editor) Paul Whittaker is an Australian newspaper journalist and editor. In 2018, he was appointed CEO of Sky News in Australia. Career Whittaker was editor of ''The Australian'' from 2007 to 2011, having previously held roles of national chief of staf ...

, Australian newspaper editor *

Patricia Whittaker Patricia Whittaker is a Barbadian former cricketer who played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium-fast. She appeared in 11 Test matches and one One Day International for the West Indies between 1976 and 1979, inc ...

, West Indian cricketer

R

* Ray Whittaker (born 1945), English footballer * Rebecca Whittaker, Canadian politician *

Red Whittaker William L. "Red" Whittaker (born 1948) is an American roboticist and research professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. He led Tartan Racing to its first-place victory in the DARPA Grand Challenge (2007) Urban Challenge and brought Ca ...

(born 1948), American robot scientist * Robert Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people *

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (22 March 1936 – 13 September 2023) was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager ...

(1936–2023), Kenyan-British singer-songwriter *

Ron Whittaker Ronald Whittaker (born August 12, 1971) is an American professional golfer. Early life Whittaker was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a semi-finalist in the 1988 U.S. Junior Amateur. He played college golf at Wake Forest University wh ...

(born 1971), American golfer

S

Sally Whittaker Sally Jane Dynevor (née Whittaker; born 30 May 1963) is an English actress, she is best known for her role as Sally Metcalfe in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 1986. In 2022, Dynevor competed in the fourt ...

(born 1963), British soap opera actress * Sammy Whittaker (1888–1952), English footballer *

Sandra Whittaker Sandra Whittaker (born 29 January 1963) is a British sprinter. She competed in the women's 200 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics. She competed at the Commonwealth Games for Scotland and won bronze medals at the 1982 games in the 4 × 400 metr ...

(born 1963), British sprinter * Sheelagh Whittaker (born 1947), Canadian business executive *

Spen Whittaker Spencer Whittaker (February 1871 – 16 April 1910) was an English footballer, manager and secretary. Playing career Whittaker played for hometown club Oswaldtwistle Rovers, before retiring from playing, taking up the chairman and secretary ro ...

(1871–1910), English football manager * Stanley Whittaker (born 1994), American basketball player *

Stephen Whittaker Stephen Whittaker (28 June 19477 February 2003) was a British actor and director. He worked largely in British film and television, and attended Henley-in-Arden School in Warwickshire before further training as an actor at London's Corona Academy ...

(1947–2003), British actor and director *

Steve Whittaker Steve Whittaker is a Professor in human-computer interaction at the University of California Santa Cruz. He is best known for his research at the intersection of computer science and social science in particular on computer mediated communication ...

, American professor *

Steven Whittaker Steven Gordon Whittaker (born 16 June 1984) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player, currently serving as the assistant manager of Ayr United. Whittaker played as a defender, primarily at right-back. He began his senior c ...

(born 1984), Scottish footballer * Stuart Whittaker (born 1975) English football player

T

* Thomas Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people *

Tony Whittaker Anthony Michael "Tony" Whittaker (4 May 1932 – 1 April 2016) was a British solicitor and politician, best known as the co-founder and first leader of PEOPLE, forerunner of the Green Party. Born in Coventry, Whittaker was educated at Warwick ...

(1932–2016), British politician * Trevor Whittaker (born 1942), English professor

V

* Victor P. Whittaker (1919–2016), British biochemist

W

* Walt Whittaker (1894–1965), American baseball player *

Walter Whittaker Walter Whittaker (20 September 1878 – 2 June 1917) was an English football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Newton Heath, Grimsby Town, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Clapton Orient and Swansea Town. Playing career Whittak ...

(1878–1917), English footballer * William Whittaker (disambiguation), multiple people

Given name

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...

(1901–1961), American writer, witness in Alger Hiss espionage case {{given name, type=both English-language surnames