Whittaker

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by people such as the naturalist and writer who carried it
2. A surname of English origin, shared by many individuals across generations and countries
3. An English family name that identifies a person descended from someone who originally bore it

Etymology: "Whittaker" is chiefly a surname, and its most widely cited origin is an occupation. Medieval English had the word "whittawer" for a craftsman who turned animal hides into white leather, using alum and salt rather than the bark tannins that produced brown leather. The surname records someone who did this work, and its spelling shifted over the centuries into the forms used today. Some accounts also connect the name to the place-name Whitacre, or to Old English words for "white" and "field," so it may have arisen in more than one way. The leather-working explanation is the most common, but the exact origin of any particular family's name is often uncertain.