The earliest evidence of the public using the term “White House” comes from 1811. There were rumors that after Washington burned as a result of the British invasion of the US capital during the War of 1812, the building was painted with white paint to hide the damage caused by the fire.
In official contexts, the building was referred to as the “Executive Mansion” until 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt (26th US President from 1901 to 1909) established by executive order the name “The White House” as the official name of the building.
The present-day wording and layout of the White House letterhead, with the word “Washington” in the middle, dates back to the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (32nd US President from 1933 to 1945).
