NameCensus.

UK surname

Woodfin

A locational surname derived from places in Devon and Somerset, England, referring to someone living near a wood or forest.

In the 1881 census there were 158 people recorded with the Woodfin surname, ranking it #14,989 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 154, ranked #23,293, down from #14,989 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bebbington, Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors and Eastham. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include The Vale of Glamorgan and Bolton.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Woodfin is 227 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 2.5%.

1881 census count

158

Ranked #14,989

Modern count

154

2016, ranked #23,293

Peak year

1911

227 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Woodfin had 158 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,989 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 154 in 2016, ranked #23,293.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 227 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities.

Woodfin surname distribution map

The map shows where the Woodfin surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Woodfin surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Woodfin over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 148 #13,028
1861 historical 122 #18,036
1881 historical 158 #14,989
1891 historical 210 #14,412
1901 historical 214 #14,517
1911 historical 227 #13,795
1997 modern 138 #22,227
1998 modern 142 #22,406
1999 modern 152 #21,636
2000 modern 152 #21,603
2001 modern 149 #21,568
2002 modern 157 #21,261
2003 modern 147 #21,977
2004 modern 141 #22,689
2005 modern 138 #22,999
2006 modern 131 #23,942
2007 modern 125 #24,987
2008 modern 130 #24,695
2009 modern 140 #24,033
2010 modern 146 #23,921
2011 modern 148 #23,520
2012 modern 134 #25,059
2013 modern 147 #23,977
2014 modern 154 #23,439
2015 modern 153 #23,413
2016 modern 154 #23,293

Geography

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Where Woodfins are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bebbington, Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors, Eastham, Chester St Oswald, Little St John, Cathedral Church, St Peter, St Bridget, St Martin, Holy Trinity and Eccles. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to The Vale of Glamorgan and Bolton. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Bebbington Cheshire
2 Wellington, Wrockwardine, Eyton-on-the-Moors, Preston-on-the-Moors Shropshire
3 Eastham Cheshire
4 Chester St Oswald, Little St John, Cathedral Church, St Peter, St Bridget, St Martin, Holy Trinity Cheshire
5 Eccles Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 The Vale of Glamorgan 012 Vale of Glamorgan
2 Bolton 013 Bolton
3 The Vale of Glamorgan 007 Vale of Glamorgan
4 The Vale of Glamorgan 013 Vale of Glamorgan
5 Bolton 026 Bolton

Forenames

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First names often paired with Woodfin

These lists show first names that appear often with the Woodfin surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Woodfin

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Woodfin, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities

Nationally, the Woodfin surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy Industrial and Coastal Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Woodfin household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Single-person households are common in these neighbourhoods, and these residents are typically divorced rather than never married. A high proportion of residents were born outside the UK in the EU. There are many young adults, some with young children, but relatively few residents are of normal retirement age or over. Although levels of identification with ethnic minorities are in line with the Supergroup average, individuals identifying with Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is more common than average. High long-term disability rates are observed, and unpaid care is more common than in the rest of the Group. The predominant housing types are terraced houses and flats, which are typically part of the social rented sector. This Group is commonly found in coastal areas and (present-day or former) industrial towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Skilled Trades and Construction Workers

Within London, Woodfin is most associated with areas classed as Skilled Trades and Construction Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These scattered, peripheral and often low residential density neighbourhoods house more workers in skilled trades and construction. Few households rent social housing and there are few students. Multiple car ownership is higher than the Supergroup average, perhaps because of poorer public transport connectivity. Incidence of mixed or multiple ethnicity is below the Supergroup average, and the absence of individuals identifying as Pakistani or Other Asian groups is also less pronounced. Flatted accommodation is less dominant than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Woodfin is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Woodfin falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Woodfin is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Woodfin, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Woodfin

The surname Woodfin originates from England and dates back to the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "wudu" meaning wood and "fynn" meaning a marsh or fen, suggesting it was initially used to describe someone who lived near a wooded marsh or swamp area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Woodfin can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a Robert de Wudefyn is mentioned. These rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer during the medieval period.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as Wodefen, Wodfeyn, and Wodefyn in various legal documents and records from counties like Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Wiltshire. This suggests that the name was initially concentrated in the southern and western regions of England.

The Woodfin name can also be traced to the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded a landowner named Radulfus de Wudafana in Huntingdonshire. This entry provides evidence of the name's existence in the years immediately following the Norman Conquest of England.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the Woodfin surname include Sir Thomas Woodfin (1556-1618), a prominent English merchant and diplomat during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and John Woodfin (1720-1793), a colonial American pioneer and landowner in Virginia.

Another significant figure was William Woodfin (1768-1838), a U.S. Congressman from Virginia who served multiple terms in the House of Representatives during the early 19th century. His grandson, Samuel Woodfin (1836-1915), was a decorated Union Army officer during the American Civil War.

The Woodfin name has also been associated with several place names, such as Woodfin Ridge in North Carolina and the town of Woodfin in the same state, which was likely named after a local landowner or early settler.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Woodfin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Woodfin surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Cheshire leads with 56 Woodfins recorded in 1881 and an index of 16.46x.

County Total Index
Cheshire 56 16.46x
Shropshire 54 40.56x
Lancashire 19 1.04x
Devon 10 3.12x
Denbighshire 9 15.46x
Middlesex 7 0.45x
Berkshire 1 0.86x
Flintshire 1 2.41x
Yorkshire 1 0.07x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Wrockwardine in Shropshire leads with 18 Woodfins recorded in 1881 and an index of 614.33x.

Place Total Index
Wrockwardine 18 614.33x
Ellesmere 15 655.02x
Chester St Oswald 11 178.57x
Wellington 11 147.06x
Bunbury 6 1276.60x
Cheetham 6 43.99x
Tarporley 6 845.07x
Waverton 6 3529.41x
Wolborough 6 148.15x
Marchwiel 5 1666.67x
Moreton 5 1562.50x
Over Hulton 5 961.54x
Tranmere 5 40.00x
Hornsey 4 20.52x
Tilston 4 2105.26x
West Derby 4 7.48x
Birtles 3 10000.00x
Chester St John Baptist 3 49.10x
Isleworth 3 43.80x
Plymouth Charles The 3 21.23x
Whittington English 3 3750.00x
Handley 2 1428.57x
Malpas 2 400.00x
Wem 2 101.01x
Wombridge 2 121.95x
Bersham 1 40.32x
Broughton In Salford 1 5.98x
Burton 1 263.16x
Everton 1 1.72x
Great Boughton 1 85.47x
Great Crosby 1 20.04x
Llanfwrog 1 140.85x
Nantwich 1 25.32x
Overton 1 227.27x
Reading St Giles 1 8.81x
Shrewsbury St Alkmond 1 135.14x
Shrewsbury St Mary 1 19.05x
Skircoat 1 16.61x
Staverton 1 256.41x
Whittington 1 90.09x
Witton Cum Twambrooks 1 33.00x
Worsley 1 8.87x
Wrexham Abbot 1 68.49x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Woodfin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Woodfin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 17
William 10
George 6
Joseph 5
Frederick 4
James 4
Thomas 4
Arthur 3
Henry 3
Richard 3
Robert 3
Charles 2
Willm. 2
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Frank 1
Frederic 1
Griffith 1
Herbert 1
J.C. 1
Leonard 1
Peter 1
Richd. 1
Shacfield 1
Stephen 1
Thos. 1
W.Harry 1
Zacheus 1

FAQ

Woodfin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Woodfin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 158 people were recorded with the Woodfin surname. That placed it at #14,989 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Woodfin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 154 in 2016. That gives Woodfin a modern rank of #23,293.

What does the Woodfin surname mean?

A locational surname derived from places in Devon and Somerset, England, referring to someone living near a wood or forest.

What does the Woodfin map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Woodfin bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.