Whitehead is an English surname of nickname origin, referring to an individual with white or light-coloured hair. The name derives from the Old English elements hwit ('white') and heafod ('head'), literally meaning 'white head'. This type of descriptive surname was common in the Middle Ages to distinguish physical traits, hair color being a frequent example. Though originally an occupational or descriptive nickname, Whitehead has also been adopted as a place name in several English-speaking regions. Notable toponyms include a small coastal town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland; the Rural Municipality of Whitehead in Manitoba, Canada; a community in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia; and several unincorporated places in the United States, such as in Mississippi and communities in North Carolina's Alleghany County. The island of Tobago has a locality called Crown Point on a former peninsula originally named Cape Backhead but locally known as Silford or Whitthead, etymologically related to the place.