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1. English, Scottish, and Irish: from Middle English whit 'white', hence a nickname for someone with white hair or an unnaturally pale complexion. In some cases it represents a Middle English personal name, from an Old English byname, Hwīt(a), of this origin. As a Scottish and Irish surname it has been widely used as a translation of the many Gaelic names based on bán 'white' or fionn 'fair' . There has also been some confusion with Wight. 2. Translated form of cognate and equivalent names in other languages, such as German Weiss, French Blanc, Polish Białas.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoSince white is the English name of a color, and it is a color that people's hair have, it is highly likely that one or more families in England adopted the family name White based on the hair color of the head of the family at the time.
Before families had names passed down from generation to generation, it was not uncommon for people to distinguish persons with the same given name by adding a characteristic. Two Johns in a village with different hair color might be called John White and John Brown. Two men with different eye color might be called David Blue and David Green. Men living in different kinds of terrain might be called Tom Hill and Tom Woods. When families started adopting hereditary names, in some cases they took the took whatever name was being used for the current generation.
Wiki User
∙ 16y agoI'd imagine the UK would be a good start as it's an English word ;). I think they class as European (or Caucasian).
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoWhite is an English, Scottish, and Irish name from the Middle English word - whit- meaning white, a nickname for someone with white hair or a pale complexion.
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