Whit is a short form of surname names such as Whitney, Whitman and Whitaker, all built on the Old English hwit, "white", and it is also the old English word for Pentecost, as in Whit Monday. As a stand-alone name it has a crisp, preppy Southern feel. Whit ranked number 9088 in 2000, number 3874 in 2015 and has climbed every year since to number 1958 in 2025, its best rank so far.