Witherspoon (surname)

Not to be confused with Wotherspoon or Weatherspoon.

Witherspoon (/ˈwɪðərspuːn/ WIDH-ər-spoon) is a Scottish surname, deriving from the elements wether, an archaic name for 'sheep' and spang, which means 'a narrow strip of land'. The name is found in the county of Lanarkshire.

List

Notable people with the name include:

Athletics

• Ahkello Witherspoon (born 1995), American football player
• Brian Witherspoon (born 1985), American football player
• Chazz Witherspoon (born 1981), heavyweight boxer
• Derrick Witherspoon (born 1971), former American football and Canadian football player
• Devon Witherspoon (born 2000), American football player
• Jim Witherspoon (born 1951), retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman
• Reggie Witherspoon (basketball), head coach of the University at Buffalo men's basketball team
• Reggie Witherspoon (sprinter) (born 1985), American sprinter
• Sophia Witherspoon (born 1969), former WNBA basketball player
• Tim Witherspoon (born 1957), American boxer twice recognized as Heavyweight Champion of the World
• Will Witherspoon (born 1980), American football player

Entertainers

• Cora Witherspoon (1890–1957), American actress
• Dane Witherspoon (1957–2014), American actor
• Herbert Witherspoon (1873–1935), American bass singer and opera manager
• Jimmy Witherspoon (1920–1997), American blues singer
• John Witherspoon (actor) (1942–2019), American comedy actor
• Lajon Witherspoon (born 1972), vocalist for the Atlanta-based alternative metal band Sevendust
• Reese Witherspoon (born 1976), American actress and film producer

Politicians

• Buddy Witherspoon, former National Executive Committeeman of the South Carolina Republican Party
• James Hervey Witherspoon, Jr., (1810–1865), Confederate States of America politician
• John Witherspoon (1723–1794) clergyman and signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence
  • Doctor John Witherspoon, a bronze sculpture in Washington D.C. by William Couper of John Witherspoon
• Robert Witherspoon (1767–1837), U.S. Representative from South Carolina
• Samuel Andrew Witherspoon (1855–1915), U.S. Representative from Mississippi

Others

• Frances M. Witherspoon, (1886–1973), American writer and activist
• Gary Witherspoon, Professor of American Indian studies at the University of Washington
• Sarah Witherspoon, American mathematician
• Sharon Witherspoon, British statistician