The earliest occurrences of the name appear in the 13th century. A Robert Blauncpayn is mentioned in the Henry III patent rolls of 1230. The earliest Bedfordshire record is from 1254 and the family of Ion in Gravenhurst have been prominent landowners ever since. Samuel Whitbread the brewer came from this line.

Whit(e)breads do not seem to have been in the limelight very often, although most English people will immediately connect the name to the beer of the same name, or to one of the many events which have been sponsored by the Whitbread brewery, like the Round the World Yacht Race or the Whitbread book of the year award.

- Samuel Whitbread I (1720-1796)

- Samuel Whitbread II (1764-1815)

The first Samuel founded the famous brewery in London in 1742 and he was the Member of Parliament for Bedford 1768-90. His only son did not have the business acumen of his father, but carried on from his father as the (whig) MP for Bedford from 1790 and was considered a reformer. In 1806 he impeached Lord Melville for misuse of public money while Treasurer of the Navy. 1796-1806 he built the family home, Southill in Bedfordshire, where his descendants still live. On July 6th, 1815 Samuel cut his throat with a razor. See also 2 Bedfordshire County Council articles on The Whitbread Family, one for Cardington and the other for Southill. Samuel died 18 days after the Battle of Waterloo, not before it, as stated in this article. He was an admirer of Napoleon and judged him to be a 'glorious champion of liberty, equality and fraternity' and it is possible that he became depressed after Napoleon's downfall at Waterloo.

- Alice Whitbread (c. 1578 - ?)

Alice was a 2nd great-grand aunt of Samuel Whitbread I. She is probably the most often cited member of any Whitbread on the Internet. She married Gerard (or Gerat) Spencer on 10th November 1600 at Upper Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire. Four of their sons emigrated to New England around 1631 and many present-day Americans can trace their ancestry back to these Spencers. Much of the information on Alice'€™s ancestry given on the internet is incorrect. The information given by Torrey (1956) appears to be accurate and the relevant part of his work is correctly cited on the internet page of Steve Lawson. Note: The previous assumption that Alice's mother Eleanor was born Radcliffe or Hervey is incorrect. Her maiden name was in fact Hill as evidenced from the will of her brother, Thomas Hill, d. 1628 Flitton, Bedfordshire.

- Ven. Thomas Whitebread (c. 1618 - 1679)

Thomas was the Jesuit Provincial Superior of England at the time of Charles II when Titus Oates falsely accused him and others of High Treason (Popish Plot). He was found guilty and was martyred (hung, drawn and quartered) at Tyburn. The plot was however soon uncovered and Thomas was beatified by the Pope. His feast day is June 20th. There is strong evidence that Thomas was a member of the Whit(e)bred family of Writtle and White Notley, Essex, many of whom were known catholic recusants. He was probably a nephew of the Agnes/Anna Whitebread mentioned below.

- Anna Whitebread and Henry Wright of White Notley, Essex

Anna Whitebread / Whitebred / Whytbred is another person who is mentioned in many online genealogies. In these accounts she is the daughter of Thomas Whitebread and she married Henry Wright of Upminster, Essex sometime before 1450 and their grandson Sir John Wright was first in the long line of Wrights who lived at Kelvedon Hall. The ancestry of Anna Whitebread is usually claimed to lead four generations back to John Whitebread born about 1325. This account is wrong and appears to stem from a misinterpretation of statements made in Philip Morant's 1768 book on the History of Essex. It is fairly clear that the Anna Whitebread he was referring to was one who married a Henry Wright of White Notley late in the 16th century (not the 15th). Such a person is fairly well documented. She was baptized Agnes Whytbred 1 Jul 1560 at White Notley. In several period documents she is also referred to as Ann or Anne and I have no doubt she is the person Morant was referring to. This Henry Wright has no known connection to the Kelvedon Hall family, so genealogies of that family should exclude any Whit(e)bread connections.

- Albert Arthur Whitbread (1922-2011)

Albert "Alf" Whitbread was a member of the 6th Airborne Division of the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry which used gliders to reach and take the Horsa and Pegasus bridges over the River Orne and Caen Canal in Normandy early on D Day, 6 June 1944. Alf was part of the second group of gliders which landed first at Horsa Bridge, before taking part in the battle for Pegasus Bridge. They held off many counter attacks by German troops and tanks until midday. Because of this, German soldiers and tanks were unable to reach the five beach landing points for the main allied invasion of France, preventing the death of an untold number of allied soldiers. Albert is descended from a Whitbread family who were living in the 'Rodings' area of Essex in the late 18th century and this family probably connects to a family living in nearby Fyfield a century earlier.