Whitmire
An English habitational surname, probably meaning “white moor” or “white marsh.”
The #4,906 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,007 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Whitmire is generally understood as a habitational name built from Old English elements meaning “white” and “moor, marsh, or open waste ground.” The second element may reflect a local place-name with mire or moor-like terrain, so the literal sense is likely “white moor” or “white marsh.” As with many English surnames, it probably began as a way to identify someone who came from a place of that name or from a similarly described landscape.
History
The surname is established chiefly in English-speaking countries, especially the United States. In America it is often found in the South and appears to have been carried by English-descended families whose name was stabilized before or during early colonial settlement. Because Whitmire may also have been influenced by local place-name spelling, some family lines could have independent regional histories.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Names built from color words and landscape terms were especially common in medieval English naming, which is one reason Whitmire feels both vivid and old.