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Variants, Whytelaw, Whytlaw. A name of territorial
origin, from the lands of Whitelaw in the parish of Morebattle, meaning, 'of
Whitelaw.'This name is of Scottish descent and is found in many ancient
manuscripts in the above country. Examples of such are John of Whitelaw, of
Edinburgh, who rendered homage in 1296 and Archibald de Whitelaw was
Archdeacon of St.Andrews in 1470. Names were recorded in these ancient
documents to make it easier for the overlords to collect taxes and to keep
records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired
lands by either force or as gifts from their rulers, they created charters
of ownership for themselves and their vassals. Other examples of this name
were found in the person of Patrick Whitelaw who was recorded as a farmer of
Pettindreich in 1560 and Bartholomew Whitelaw had a charter of lands in
Paxtoun, recorded in the year 1578. |
