Note:  Our family found this and framed it.  The author and age of the document is unknown, but we thought it was quite interesting.  We are unable to find any information
that absolutely gives the reason for the WHITMAN name.

    The surname WHITMAN, like many other family names,
originated in medieval times in England as a simple description of an individual as a means of better identification.  Prior to that time, a person was known only by the single name which was given him at birth.  However, as the population of the towns and villages of England increased, it became necessary to distinguish one man named John ( or William or Thomas ) from others with the same name, and so, a descriptive word or phrase would be given to each.

   There were four major sources from which these additional names arose:
the names of Places, the person's Occupation, a descriptive Nickname, and Baptismal, that is, from the name of the father.  Of these, the name WHITMAN began as a Nickname and was used to further identify one who had a light complexion, or white or gray hair.

CLASSIFICATION  OF  ORIGIN          COUNTRY  OF  ORIGIN

Nickname                                  England

MEANING  OF  NAME

One who had a light complexion, or white or gray hair

VARIANT  SPELLINGS          APPROXIMATE  U.S.  POPULATION

Whiteman                                      29,400

FOREIGN  EQUIVALENTSRANK  IN  SIZE  (U.S.A.) (SMITH = #1)

Weiskopf (German)                          1511st
            and
Belohlav (Czech.)

     In the beginning, the name WHITMAN belonged only to the person it described.  Generations later however, it
became hereditary and was passed down from a father to
his children to become their family name.
    Variants are names with the same meaning, but spelled
differently.  Like most names, WHITMAN has undergone
some change since it originated and has also been spelled
WHITEMAN.
    Names often have equivalents in the languages of other nations.  If born in another country, instead of WHITMAN,
the family name would have been spelled Weiskopf
(German) and Belohlav (Czech.).
    The most recent official records released by the Government show that from these humble beginnings,
today there are about 29,400 people named WHITMAN in
the nation, and it's the 1511st  most populous name.

Note:  Population and Rank include other names beginning
with WHITMA.