Whitney

W4H4I1T1N1E1Y4
/ˈwɪtni//ˈʍɪtni/

proper noun

A habitational surname from Middle English.

OriginOld English hwītan →
CommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A habitational surname from Middle English.
  2. A female given name transferred from the surname, popular in the 1980s and 1990s due to the fame of Whitney Houston.

    “His research shows you can change aging to make lives younger for longer. Now he wants to change the world and make aging a disease,” said Whitney Casey, an investor who is partnering with Sinclair to create a do-it-yourself biological age test.

    2022 June 2, Sandee LaMotte, “The ‘Benjamin Button’ effect: Scientists can reverse aging in mice. The goal is to do the same for humans”, in CNN
    1 more example

    "I don't believe I've ever known a woman named 'Whitney'," I said, trying not to look too deeply into her bright blue eyes. "Or, hell, even a man for that matter." "You've never heard of Whitney Houston?" "Who's that?" I said, realizing that I had never gotten really serious about a woman with blue eyes.

    1993, James Crumley, The Mexican Tree Duck, Picador, published 1994, →ISBN, page 138
  3. A male given name from surname.
  4. A community in South Algonquin municipality, Nipissing District, Ontario, Canada.
  5. A number of places in the United States:
    1. An unincorporated community in Franklin County, Idaho.
    2. An unorganized territory in Penobscot County, Maine.
    3. A township in Arenac County, Michigan.
    4. An unincorporated community in Harris Township, Menominee County, Michigan.
    5. A village in Dawes County, Nebraska.
    6. A census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada.
    7. An unincorporated community in Baker County, Oregon.
    8. A census-designated place in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
    9. A city in Hill County, Texas.
    10. A ghost town in Skagit County, Washington.
    11. A ghost town in Fayette County, West Virginia.

Origin

  1. Old Englishhwītan
  2. EnglishWhitney

From Old English hwītan, dative of hwīt (“white”) + īeġ (“island”), "white island".

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Whitney. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Whitney

MLA

“Whitney.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Whitney. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Whitney,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Whitney.

Source: Whitney on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.