The English surname Whitaker is an habitational name from any of various places named with the Old English terms hwit meaning “white, or wheat” and æcer meaning “cultivated land,” as for example Whitaker in Lancashire and Whitacre in Warwickshire (both ‘white field’) or Whiteacre in Kent and Wheatacre in Norfolk (both ‘wheat field’). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard de Wetacre, which was dated 1177, in the ”Pipe Rolls of Norfolk.” A notable bearer of the name was Joseph Whitaker (1820 - 1895), who founded the magazine, "The Book Seller", and started the annual publication of "Whitakers Almanac" in 1868.
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