This most interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from a nickname which was perhaps given in the first instance with reference to a person's unusually fair skin. Other nickname surnames similarly formed are "Proudfoot", a nickname for someone who walked with a haughty or proud step, and "Lightfoot", a speedy messenger. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century elements "hwit", white and "fot", foot; hence "white foot". The initial element "hwit", white, fair is also found in the surnames Whitehair, Whitehand, Whitehead, Whitehouse, Whitelaw, Whiteleg, and many more. Whitefoot has its French parallel in Blampey, Blampied (Richard Blancpie is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1198), composed of the Old French elements "blanc", white and "pied", foot. The surname Whitefoot first appears in records in the late 11th Century (see below), while other early examples of the surname include John Weytefot, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1327, and Robert Whitfott, recorded in 1311, in the Court Rolls of the Borough of Colchester. Amos Whitefoot was granted a ticket for Boston, travelling aboard the "Robert" from the Barbadoes, in March 1679. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ulfuine Huitfot, which was dated circa 1095, in the "Feudal Documents from the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds", Suffolk, during the reign of King William 11, known as "Rufus", 1087 - 1100. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024