Whitehead is a surname. Recorded in a number of spellings including Whithead, Whitehed, Whithed, and Whitsed, this surname is of English origins. It usually derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "hwit" meaning white, plus "heafod", a head, combined to form a descriptive nickname for someone with white hair.
Notable people with the surname include:
Adam Whitehead (born 1980), British swimmer
Adrian Whitehead (born 1975), Australian rules footballer
Alan Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), British philosopher and mathematician
Alfred Whitehead (1887–1974), English composer, organist, choirmaster and music educator, active in Canada
Mrs. Andrew Whitehead (died 1920), American blizzard victim
Annie Whitehead (born 1955), English jazz trombone player
Axle Whitehead (born 1980), Australian entertainer
Barb Whitehead (born 1961), American golfer
Ben Whitehead, English voice actor
Bob Whitehead, American game designer and programmer
Bob Whitehead (soccer) American soccer player
Bruce Whitehead, American politician in Colorado
Bud Whitehead (born 1939), American football player
Bus Whitehead (1928–2010), American basketball player
Burgess Whitehead (1910–1993), American baseball player
Charles Whitehead (1804–1862), English poet, novelist and dramatist
Charlie Whitehead (footballer) (born 1899), Australian rules footballer
Chris Whitehead (born 1986), English rugby union player
Christian Whitehead, Australian video game developer
Chryssie Whitehead American actress, singer and dancer
Clay T. Whitehead (1938–2008), United States government official in charge of telecommunications
Clive Whitehead (born 1955), English footballer - Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion
Colson Whitehead (born 1969), American author
David Whitehead (1896–1992), Australian Army officer
Dean Whitehead (born 1982), English footballer
Derek Whitehead, English rugby league footballer
Donald S. Whitehead, American politician in Idaho
Edward Whitehead (1908–1978), spokesman and later president of Schweppes
Edgar Whitehead (1905–1971), Rhodesian politician
Edwin H. Whitehead (1925–2007), American lawyer and politician in Wyoming
Elliott Whitehead (born 1989), English rugby league player
Ennis Whitehead (1895–1964), Lieutenant General U.S. Air Force
Frank Whitehead, Canadian politician
Frank Whitehead (mayor), American politician from Florida
Frederick Whitehead, (1853–1938), English landscape artist and illustrator
Frederick Wilson Whitehead, (1863–1926), English organist, composer and music teacher
Gary Whitehead (born 1965), American poet and painter
Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1939), English actor
George Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Gillian Whitehead (born 1941), New Zealand composer
Graham Whitehead (1922–1981), British racing driver
Gregory Whitehead, American writer, radiomaker and audio artist
Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927), aviation pioneer, emigrated from Germany to U.S., first powered airplane flight in 1901
Hal Whitehead, Canadian biologist
Henry Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Hugh Whitehead (died 1551), prior of the Benedictine monastery at Durham, England
J. Gordon Whitehead, Contributed to the death of Houdini
J. H. C. Whitehead (1904–1960) (known as Henry), British mathematician
James Whitehead (disambiguation) (including Jim and Jimmy), multiple people
Jason John Whitehead, Canadian stand-up comedian, active in Britain
Jay Whitehead (born 1959), American author and publisher
Jerome Whitehead (1956–2012), American basketball player
John Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Jonathan Whitehead, English composer
Joseph Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Lees Whitehead (1864–1913), English cricketer
Lucky Whitehead (born 1992), American football player
Luke Whitehead (born 1981), American basketball player
Luther Whitehead (1869–1931), English cricketer
Martha Whitehead, Texas State Treasurer
Max Whitehead (1923–2010), Australian rugby league footballer
Maxey Whitehead (born 1985), American voice actress
Mike Whitehead (born 1981), American mixed martial arts fighter
Milt Whitehead (1862–1901), Canadian baseball player
Neville Whitehead (bassist), New Zealand jazz bassist and luthier
Nick Whitehead (1933–2002), Welsh sprinter
Nikki Whitehead (1975–2010), American mother murdered by her twin daughters Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah
Nicole Whitehead (born 1980), American model and Playboy Playmate
Norman Whitehead (1915–1983, English landscape painter
O.Z. Whitehead (1911–1998), American actor and author
Paul Whitehead, British painter and graphic artist
Paxton Whitehead (born 1937), British actor
Peter Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Phil Whitehead (born 1969), English footballer
Phillip Whitehead (1937–2005), British politician, television producer and writer
R. Whitehead (cricketer), English cricketer between 1785 and 1800
Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead (1854–1929), founder of the "Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony", New York
Rex Whitehead (born 1948), Australian cricket umpire
Richard Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Richmal Oates-Whitehead (1970–2005), New Zealander who died in London
Robert Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Ron Whitehead, American poet
Rowland Whitehead (disambiguation), multiple people
Stanley Whitehead (1911–1976), New Zealand politician
Stanley Whitehead (physicist) (1902–1956), British physicist
Steve Whitehead (born 1960), English photorealist painter
Stuart Whitehead (born 1976), English footballer
Tahir Whitehead (born 1990), American football player
Terrell Whitehead (born 1988), American football player
Terrence Whitehead (born 1983), American football player
Thomas Whitehead (1825–1901), member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia (1873–1875)
Thomas North Whitehead (1891-1969), American-British writer and educator
Þór Whitehead (Thor Whitehead) (born 1943), Icelandic historian
Tim Whitehead (ice hockey), American ice hockey coach
Tim Whitehead (rugby player) (born 1988), South African rugby union player
William Whitehead (disambiguation) (including Willie), multiple people