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Whitney is an Old English surname that derives from the location of Whitney in Herefordshire, England. ^[1] 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

• Whitney family
• Witney (name)
• Whitley (surname)

References

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Whitney.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.