NameCensus.

UK surname

Woodhouse

A locational surname referring to someone who lived in or near a house in the woods.

In the 1881 census there were 7,100 people recorded with the Woodhouse surname, ranking it #598 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 9,347, ranked #695, down from #598 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lancaster Borough, Rowley Regis and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Norfolk, Shropshire and Lancaster.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Woodhouse is 9,813 in 2000. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 31.6%.

1881 census count

7,100

Ranked #598

Modern count

9,347

2016, ranked #695

Peak year

2000

9,813 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Woodhouse had 7,100 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #598 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 9,347 in 2016, ranked #695.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 9,500 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Woodhouse surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Woodhouse surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Woodhouse 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 4,690 #589
1861 historical 4,886 #580
1881 historical 7,100 #598
1891 historical 7,642 #590
1901 historical 8,657 #607
1911 historical 9,500 #518
1997 modern 9,489 #663
1998 modern 9,760 #667
1999 modern 9,802 #669
2000 modern 9,813 #663
2001 modern 9,562 #666
2002 modern 9,709 #672
2003 modern 9,448 #676
2004 modern 9,360 #680
2005 modern 9,197 #686
2006 modern 9,106 #695
2007 modern 9,176 #698
2008 modern 9,167 #701
2009 modern 9,437 #694
2010 modern 9,596 #698
2011 modern 9,572 #690
2012 modern 9,349 #692
2013 modern 9,474 #694
2014 modern 9,528 #691
2015 modern 9,456 #687
2016 modern 9,347 #695

Geography

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Where Woodhouses are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lancaster Borough, Rowley Regis, London parishes and Gateshead. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Norfolk, Shropshire and Lancaster. 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 Lancaster Borough Lancashire
2 Rowley Regis Staffordshire
3 London parishes London 1
4 London parishes London 3
5 Gateshead Durham

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Norfolk 011 North Norfolk
2 Shropshire 039 Shropshire
3 North Norfolk 010 North Norfolk
4 Lancaster 002 Lancaster
5 North Norfolk 004 North Norfolk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Woodhouse

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Woodhouse

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Woodhouse, 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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Woodhouse surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Woodhouse household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Woodhouse is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

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

Woodhouse is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Woodhouse falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Woodhouse is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

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

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Woodhouse

The surname Woodhouse is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words 'wudu' meaning wood and 'hus' meaning house. It initially referred to someone who lived in a house located in or near a wooded area. The name can be traced back to the 11th century and the time of the Norman Conquest of England.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Woodhouse dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, including Woodehus and Wodehous, reflecting the phonetic variations common during that era.

The Woodhouse surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where several villages and hamlets bore the name, such as Woodhouse in Yorkshire and Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire. These place names likely contributed to the proliferation of the surname in those regions.

Notable historical figures bearing the Woodhouse surname include Sir Michael Woodhouse (1544-1619), an English judge and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent individual was James Woodhouse (1735-1809), an English mathematician and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of differential calculus and probability theory.

In the literary world, John Woodhouse (1603-1654) was a renowned English Puritan minister and author, best known for his work 'A Treatise on the Lord's Supper.' Additionally, Robert Woodhouse (1773-1827) was an English mathematician and scholar who published several works on astronomy and the calculus.

Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the Woodhouse name was associated with various noble families and landowners across England. For instance, the Woodhouse family of Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire held considerable influence and property in the region for several generations.

While the surname Woodhouse may have evolved from its original geographic connotation, it has maintained a strong presence in English history, with numerous individuals bearing the name leaving their mark across various fields, including law, literature, science, and politics.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Woodhouse families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Woodhouse 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. Yorkshire leads with 1,476 Woodhouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.15x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 1,476 2.15x
Lancashire 960 1.17x
Staffordshire 601 2.57x
Middlesex 567 0.82x
Norfolk 549 5.16x
Derbyshire 311 2.87x
Herefordshire 236 8.31x
Surrey 224 0.66x
Warwickshire 181 1.04x
Worcestershire 181 2.00x
Nottinghamshire 180 1.93x
Shropshire 178 2.98x
Durham 164 0.80x
Cheshire 159 1.04x
Essex 107 0.78x
Lincolnshire 104 0.94x
Hampshire 95 0.67x
Kent 94 0.40x
Hertfordshire 68 1.43x
Leicestershire 59 0.77x
Northumberland 52 0.50x
Berkshire 49 0.94x
Lanarkshire 43 0.19x
Gloucestershire 41 0.30x
Cambridgeshire 37 0.84x
Northamptonshire 37 0.57x
Westmorland 35 2.30x
Buckinghamshire 32 0.76x
Devon 32 0.22x
Somerset 30 0.27x
Dumfriesshire 29 1.90x
Sussex 29 0.25x
Montgomeryshire 20 1.26x
Suffolk 19 0.23x
Cornwall 14 0.18x
Monmouthshire 13 0.26x
Oxfordshire 13 0.30x
Fife 9 0.22x
Cumberland 8 0.13x
Glamorgan 8 0.07x
Caernarfonshire 6 0.21x
Dorset 6 0.13x
Pembrokeshire 6 0.27x
Flintshire 5 0.27x
Radnorshire 5 0.90x
Brecknockshire 4 0.29x
Midlothian 3 0.03x
Royal Navy 3 0.36x
Denbighshire 2 0.08x
Isle of Man 2 0.16x
Renfrewshire 2 0.04x
Ayrshire 1 0.02x
Bedfordshire 1 0.03x
Channel Islands 1 0.05x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.07x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.10x
Perthshire 1 0.03x
Selkirkshire 1 0.16x
Wiltshire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Rowley Regis in Staffordshire leads with 165 Woodhouses recorded in 1881 and an index of 25.34x.

Place Total Index
Rowley Regis 165 25.34x
Poulton Barre 129 138.04x
Huddersfield 93 9.31x
Birmingham 81 1.39x
Dudley 75 6.82x
Almondbury 68 20.50x
Nottingham St Mary 68 2.82x
Harborne 67 8.95x
Lindley Cum Quarmby 63 36.41x
West Ham 63 2.09x
Brightside Bierlow 61 4.53x
Matlock 61 41.92x
Lancaster 60 12.28x
Preston 59 2.68x
Ecclesall Bierlow 58 4.16x
Islington London 58 0.86x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 50 7.82x
Handsworth 49 8.51x
Nether Hallam 46 4.96x
St Pancras London 43 0.77x
Flamborough 41 123.42x
Tintwistle 40 48.99x
Hackney London 39 1.00x
Westoe 39 3.34x
Honley 37 30.82x
Manchester 37 1.00x
Toxteth Park 36 1.29x
Tipton 35 4.89x
Ashton Under Lyne 34 1.89x
Barrow In Furness 33 2.95x
Foleshill 33 17.97x
Kensington London 33 0.86x
Leeds 33 0.85x
Northrepps 32 235.64x
Sheffield 32 1.47x
Mile End Old Town 31 2.84x
Portsea 31 1.11x
Shenstone 31 52.19x
Great Yarmouth 30 3.40x
St Marylebone London 30 0.81x
Walton Le Dale 30 13.59x
West Bromwich 30 2.24x
Annan 29 22.08x
Lambeth 29 0.48x
Liverpool 29 0.58x
Aston 28 0.58x
Shoreditch London 28 0.93x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 27 3.03x
Bethnal Green London 26 0.86x
Buxton 26 196.23x
Kimberworth 26 6.83x
Kingston On Thames 25 3.09x
Rotherham 25 6.47x
Salford 25 1.03x
Upper Hallam 25 41.95x
Burslem 24 3.59x
Cheltenham 24 2.29x
Kelling 24 478.09x
Kingswinford 24 2.83x
Lewisham 24 1.91x
Lye 24 15.95x
Stanstead Abbots 24 82.90x
Ardwick 22 2.97x
Heigham 22 3.85x
Middlesbrough 22 2.46x
Stoke Upon Trent 22 0.89x
Battersea 21 0.82x
Enfield 21 4.62x
Skerton 21 31.14x
Whittington 21 14.01x
Bray 20 13.10x
Brighton 20 0.85x
Dewsbury 20 2.84x
North Meols 20 2.49x
Tottenham 20 1.81x
Blackburn 19 0.87x
Mirfield 19 5.05x
Newark Upon Trent 19 5.67x
Openshaw 19 4.94x
Wardleworth 19 4.05x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 491
Elizabeth 270
Sarah 265
Ann 150
Jane 122
Eliza 120
Emma 116
Annie 109
Hannah 108
Alice 104
Ellen 83
Martha 82
Emily 70
Ada 54
Margaret 54
Harriet 53
Clara 45
Maria 45
Caroline 44
Edith 42
Florence 42
Louisa 40
Charlotte 38
Frances 35
Fanny 32
Lucy 30
Kate 25
Matilda 25
Agnes 24
Harriett 24
Anne 23
Esther 21
Amelia 19
Gertrude 19
Isabella 19
Susannah 19
Susan 18
Ethel 17
Ruth 17
Catherine 16
Rebecca 16
Rose 16
Lydia 15
Sophia 15
Selina 14
Anna 13
Eleanor 13
Elizth. 12
Jessie 12
Amy 11

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 445
William 361
George 213
James 210
Thomas 201
Henry 140
Joseph 138
Charles 130
Robert 94
Alfred 77
Samuel 72
Arthur 71
Edward 71
Walter 54
Richard 49
Albert 45
Frederick 45
David 37
Harry 37
Herbert 35
Wm. 27
Frank 26
Ernest 25
Edwin 24
Benjamin 22
Stephen 22
Francis 20
Fred 20
Daniel 17
Thos. 15
Tom 15
Joe 14
Geo. 12
Isaac 11
Edmund 9
Matthew 9
Sam 9
Willie 9
Jonathan 8
Peter 8
Fredk. 7
Henery 7
Joshua 7
Michael 7
Robt. 7
Jas. 6
Lawrence 6
Ralph 6
Richd. 6
Sidney 6

FAQ

Woodhouse surname: questions and answers

How common was the Woodhouse surname in 1881?

In 1881, 7,100 people were recorded with the Woodhouse surname. That placed it at #598 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Woodhouse surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 9,347 in 2016. That gives Woodhouse a modern rank of #695.

What does the Woodhouse surname mean?

A locational surname referring to someone who lived in or near a house in the woods.

What does the Woodhouse map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Woodhouse 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.