This locational name derives from the Villages of Whitmore (Staffs) or Whitmoor (Devon) or from residence by a Chalky Moor or Mere (lake or marsh). The name was one of the earliest surnames and in the modern idian there are at least nine spellings including Whitemore, Whitamore and Whittimore etc. One of the earliest names into America, Husbandman Lawrence Whittimore and his wife Elizabeth aged 63 and 57 years, sailed on the ship 'Hopewell' in April 1635 to New Virginia Colony. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Wittemore which was dated 1199, The Staffordshire Assize Court during the reign of King John, Nickname (Lackland), 1199 - 1216 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.