Whitney (surname)
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Whitney is an Old English surname that derives from the location of Whitney in Herefordshire, England.{{cite book |last1=Cutter |first1=William Richard |last2=Adams |first2=William Frederick |title=Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts |date=1910 |publisher=Lewis historical Publishing Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDS84yDEf9YC&dq=%22Whitney%22+surname+-wikipedia+Herefordshire&pg=PR53 |language=en}} It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book with the spelling Witenie. The name probably refers to the River Wye which runs through the area and which can become a torrent when heavy rains in the Welsh mountains cause it to swell. This surname has also been used as a first name for both males and females, and many locations around the world have been named Whitney after individuals with this name.
Notable people
- Adeline Dutton Train Whitney (1824–1906), American writer
- Amos Whitney (1832–1920), American mechanical engineer and inventor
- Arthur Whitney (disambiguation), several people
- Asa Whitney (1797–1872), American merchant and railroad visionary
- Asa Whitney (canal commissioner) (1791–1874), American inventor, politician and manufacturer
- Ashley Whitney (born 1979), American freestyle swimmer
- Benson Whitney (born 1956), American businessman and ambassador
- Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney (1908–1998), American social figure
- Bill Whitney (Willard Whitney) (active since 1979), American broadcaster
- Carl Whitney (1913–1986), American Negro league baseball player
- Charlotte Anita Whitney (1867–1955), American suffragist, civil rights activist, and Communist
- Chris Whitney (born 1971), American basketball player
- Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1972), American financier and horse breeder
- Courtney Whitney (1897–1969), American lawyer and Army commander during World War II
- Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born 1963), American comedian better known as Larry the Cable Guy
- Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968), American heiress and philanthropist
- Edward Baldwin Whitney (1857–1911), American judge and political organizer
- Edwina Whitney (1868–1970), American librarian and college professor
- Eleanore Whitney (1917–1983), American film actress
- Eli Whitney (1765–1825), American inventor of the cotton gin
- Elizabeth Whitney (treasurer) (active 1987–1989), American politician
- Elizabeth Ann Whitney (1800–1882), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader, wife of Newel Kimball Whitney
- Ghostemane (born Eric Whitney), American rapper
- George Whitney (disambiguation), several people
- Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), American social figure, wife of Harry Payne Whitney
- Glayde Whitney (1939–2002), American geneticist
- Gil Whitney (1940–1982), American television weather forecaster
- Grace Lee Whitney (1930–2015), American actress
- Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930), American businessman and thoroughbred horsebreeder
- Harry Whitney (1873–1936), American hunter and author who was in Greenland at the same time as Peary and Cook
- Hassler Whitney (1907–1989), American mathematician, one of the founders of singularity theory
- Henry Martyn Whitney (1824–1904), newspaper founder in the Kingdom of Hawaii
- Henry Melville Whitney (1839–1923), American industrialist
- James Whitney (disambiguation), several people called James or Jim
- Joan Whitney Payson (1903–1975), American heiress (née Whitney)
- John Whitney (disambiguation), several people called John or Jon
- Josepha Newcomb Whitney (1871 – after 1955), American clubwoman, pacifist, suffragist, and politician
- Josiah Whitney (1819–1896), American geologist, chief of the California Geological Survey, for whom Mount Whitney is named
- Kahlil Whitney (born 2001), American basketball player
- Katherine Whitney Curtis (1896–1979), creator of Synchronized Swimming
- Lenar Whitney (born 1959), Louisiana politician
- Marion Isabelle Whitney (1911–1998), American geologist
- Marva Whitney (1944–2012), American funk singer
- Mary Watson Whitney (1847–1921), American astronomer
- Marylou Whitney (1925–2019), American horseracing figure, widow of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
- Meredith Whitney (born 1969), American businesswoman
- Newel Kimball Whitney (1795–1850), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader
- Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader
- Pauline Payne Whitney (1874–1916), American heiress
- Payne Whitney (1876–1927), American businessman
- Phyllis A. Whitney (1903–2008), American mystery writer
- Ray Whitney (disambiguation), several people
- Richard Whitney (disambiguation), several people called Rich or Richard
- Robert Whitney (disambiguation), several people
- Ruth Reinke Whitney (1928–1999), American magazine editor
- Ryan Whitney (born 1983), American ice hockey player
- Thomas Whitney (disambiguation), several people called Thomas or Tom
- William Whitney (disambiguation), several people
- Willis Rodney Whitney (1869–1958), American scientist
Fictional characters
- Geraldine Weldon Whitney Saxon (active 1970–1984), Grand Dame widow to Senator Gordon Whitney and crime boss Anthony Saxon from The Edge of Night
See also
References
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Category:English-language surnames