NameCensus.

UK surname

Woods

An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood or forest.

In the 1881 census there were 18,768 people recorded with the Woods surname, ranking it #203 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 32,252, ranked #166, up from #203 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Liverpool and Preston. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Boston, Knowsley and St. Helens.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Woods is 33,028 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 71.8%.

1881 census count

18,768

Ranked #203

Modern count

32,252

2016, ranked #166

Peak year

2010

33,028 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Woods had 18,768 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #203 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 32,252 in 2016, ranked #166.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 26,019 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Woods surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Woods surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Woods 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 11,211 #222
1861 historical 12,685 #191
1881 historical 18,768 #203
1891 historical 20,681 #188
1901 historical 23,866 #193
1911 historical 26,019 #162
1997 modern 30,899 #163
1998 modern 32,255 #164
1999 modern 32,374 #165
2000 modern 32,119 #166
2001 modern 31,585 #162
2002 modern 32,270 #162
2003 modern 31,470 #163
2004 modern 31,349 #165
2005 modern 30,940 #165
2006 modern 30,954 #165
2007 modern 31,206 #166
2008 modern 31,498 #165
2009 modern 32,380 #163
2010 modern 33,028 #163
2011 modern 32,443 #163
2012 modern 31,575 #165
2013 modern 32,380 #163
2014 modern 32,775 #163
2015 modern 32,402 #164
2016 modern 32,252 #166

Geography

Back to top

Where Woods' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Liverpool, Preston and Hellesdon, St Mary in the Marsh, St Clement, St Martin at Oak, St Mary at Coslany, St Michael at Cos. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Boston, Knowsley and St. Helens. 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 London parishes London 1
2 London parishes London 3
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 Preston Lancashire
5 Hellesdon, St Mary in the Marsh, St Clement, St Martin at Oak, St Mary at Coslany, St Michael at Cos Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Boston 007 Boston
2 Knowsley 001 Knowsley
3 St. Helens 015 St. Helens
4 Knowsley 004 Knowsley
5 Boston 006 Boston

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Woods

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Woods

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Woods, 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 Woods surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Woods 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, Woods 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

Woods is most concentrated in decile 6 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.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Woods 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 Woods 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 Woods, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Woods

The surname Woods is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'wudu', meaning a wood or forest. It is an occupational surname, originally given to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Woods dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273 as 'atte Wode'. Over time, the name evolved into various spellings such as Attwood, Woodhouse, and eventually Woods.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror, several place names containing the word 'wood' are mentioned, including Woodstock in Oxfordshire and Woodford in Northamptonshire. These place names may have contributed to the emergence of the surname Woods in those areas.

One notable bearer of the surname was Sir Henry Woods (1519-1584), a prominent lawyer and politician during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1568 to 1584.

Another historically significant figure was Robert Woods (1622-1692), an English mathematician and geographer. He is best known for his work 'A Treatise of Navigation' published in 1674, which contributed significantly to the development of navigation and cartography.

In the field of literature, Harriet Woods (1827-1867) was an American poet and author. Her collection of poems, 'Poems, Sacred and Secular', published in 1856, gained her recognition as a respected writer of her time.

The 18th century saw the rise of Thomas Woods (1765-1837), an English architect and landscape designer. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings and parks, including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and the gardens at Ashridge House in Hertfordshire.

Moving into the 19th century, Samuel Woods (1826-1905) was a prominent English manufacturer and philanthropist. He founded the Woods Millers Trust, which provided housing and education for the children of mill workers in the area.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Woods, a name rooted in the English landscape and occupational traditions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Woods families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Woods 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. Lancashire leads with 5,067 Woods' recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.32x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 5,067 2.32x
Middlesex 1,783 0.97x
Surrey 1,347 1.50x
Suffolk 1,234 5.50x
Norfolk 1,061 3.75x
Lincolnshire 702 2.38x
Hampshire 622 1.65x
Essex 621 1.71x
Yorkshire 473 0.26x
Lanarkshire 465 0.78x
Kent 425 0.68x
Cheshire 422 1.04x
Sussex 419 1.35x
Durham 304 0.55x
Bedfordshire 233 2.44x
Huntingdonshire 213 5.82x
Cambridgeshire 209 1.79x
Northamptonshire 204 1.18x
Berkshire 180 1.30x
Hertfordshire 175 1.38x
Wiltshire 160 0.98x
Devon 158 0.41x
Nottinghamshire 147 0.59x
Somerset 144 0.49x
Renfrewshire 138 0.97x
Buckinghamshire 135 1.21x
Warwickshire 128 0.28x
Glamorgan 125 0.39x
Monmouthshire 110 0.83x
Ayrshire 108 0.78x
Northumberland 104 0.38x
Staffordshire 104 0.17x
Oxfordshire 99 0.87x
Cumberland 98 0.62x
Leicestershire 94 0.46x
Rutland 93 6.88x
Gloucestershire 92 0.25x
Derbyshire 77 0.27x
Isle of Man 73 2.13x
Midlothian 68 0.28x
Worcestershire 59 0.25x
Angus 40 0.23x
Channel Islands 39 0.71x
Royal Navy 32 1.46x
Dorset 29 0.24x
Shropshire 29 0.18x
Cornwall 26 0.12x
Stirlingshire 26 0.38x
Montgomeryshire 25 0.59x
Westmorland 22 0.54x
Dunbartonshire 19 0.38x
Anglesey 14 0.43x
Pembrokeshire 11 0.19x
Buteshire 10 0.90x
Flintshire 10 0.20x
Herefordshire 10 0.13x
Kirkcudbrightshire 10 0.38x
Fife 8 0.07x
Denbighshire 7 0.10x
Argyllshire 6 0.12x
Brecknockshire 6 0.16x
Wigtownshire 6 0.25x
Perthshire 5 0.06x
Roxburghshire 5 0.15x
Radnorshire 3 0.20x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.01x
Dumfriesshire 2 0.05x
West Lothian 2 0.07x
Berwickshire 1 0.04x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.01x
Caithness 1 0.04x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.01x
Kincardineshire 1 0.04x
Merionethshire 1 0.03x
Sutherland 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. Preston in Lancashire leads with 409 Woods' recorded in 1881 and an index of 6.99x.

Place Total Index
Preston 409 6.99x
Liverpool 385 2.90x
Everton 290 4.16x
Blackburn 222 3.82x
West Derby 197 3.08x
Lambeth 176 1.10x
Kirkdale 174 4.73x
Warrington 168 6.48x
Barony 161 1.07x
Toxteth Park 153 2.07x
Gorleston 152 26.67x
West Ham 150 1.87x
Islington London 148 0.83x
St Marylebone London 140 1.42x
Camberwell 119 1.01x
St Pancras London 119 0.80x
Sutton 114 15.55x
Wigan 111 3.63x
Heigham 100 6.58x
Newington 96 1.41x
Portsea 94 1.27x
Kirkham 93 32.18x
Godalming 85 15.04x
Walton Le Dale 85 14.47x
Great Bolton 84 2.90x
Paddington London 82 1.21x
Glasgow 80 0.76x
Little Bolton 79 2.81x
St George Hanover 79 3.29x
Chelsea London 78 1.41x
Birkenhead 75 2.31x
Govan 75 0.51x
Salford 75 1.17x
Battersea 72 1.06x
Windle 72 5.85x
Kensington London 71 0.69x
Croydon 67 1.34x
Haslingden 65 7.18x
Great Yarmouth 62 2.64x
Chorley 59 4.81x
Kingston On Thames 59 2.74x
Walton On Hill 59 4.98x
Hackney London 58 0.56x
Accrington 57 2.87x
Great Grimsby 57 3.05x
Ipswich St Margaret 55 7.22x
Barrow In Furness 53 1.78x
Bootle Cum Linacre 52 3.00x
Boston 52 5.82x
Ardwick 50 2.54x
Bethnal Green London 49 0.61x
Poplar London 49 1.41x
Hammersmith London 48 1.06x
Lowestoft 48 4.53x
Widnes 48 3.04x
Ormskirk 46 11.00x
Framsden 45 90.45x
Mile End Old Town 44 1.51x
Norwich St Clement 44 13.40x
Old Monkland 44 1.86x
Over Darwen 44 2.52x
Barrow 42 73.20x
Halliwell 42 5.28x
Holbeach 42 12.80x
Ince In Makerfield 42 4.13x
Parr 42 5.37x
Bassingbourn 41 23.91x
Leake 41 30.38x
Hemel Hempstead 40 6.99x
St Luke London 40 1.35x
Brighton 39 0.62x
Manchester 39 0.40x
Bishopwearmouth 38 0.81x
Fulham London 38 1.42x
Lewisham 38 1.13x
Southampton St Mary 38 1.60x
Dundee 37 0.58x
Oswaldtwistle 37 4.79x
Rainford 37 15.65x
Thames Ditton 37 19.84x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 1,205
Elizabeth 733
Sarah 580
Jane 373
Ann 363
Ellen 344
Alice 340
Margaret 268
Emma 245
Eliza 241
Annie 219
Emily 197
Hannah 152
Martha 142
Charlotte 132
Harriet 129
Maria 121
Catherine 116
Louisa 114
Edith 106
Kate 94
Caroline 92
Ada 81
Fanny 81
Florence 79
Susan 78
Lucy 72
Harriett 71
Agnes 67
Anne 66
Clara 66
Esther 65
Frances 57
Isabella 57
Rebecca 54
Rose 54
Amelia 51
Susannah 48
Matilda 43
Ethel 41
Elizth. 40
Julia 37
Lydia 36
Amy 34
Anna 33
Eleanor 31
Betsy 30
Sophia 30
Laura 28
Maud 28

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 1,226
John 1,101
James 693
Thomas 611
George 579
Henry 395
Charles 378
Robert 286
Joseph 221
Edward 199
Richard 185
Alfred 171
Arthur 167
Frederick 154
Walter 152
Samuel 146
Albert 99
Harry 82
Frank 78
David 59
Ernest 58
Peter 58
Herbert 51
Edwin 49
Francis 48
Wm. 44
Thos. 42
Patrick 35
Fred 31
Daniel 30
Isaac 28
Benjamin 23
Percy 23
Edmund 22
Fredrick 22
Stephen 22
Alexander 21
Geo. 21
Michael 21
Horace 19
Robt. 19
Hugh 16
Jonathan 16
Joshua 16
Willm. 16
Abraham 14
Fredk. 14
Christopher 13
Josiah 13
Richd. 13

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Woods households.

FAQ

Woods surname: questions and answers

How common was the Woods surname in 1881?

In 1881, 18,768 people were recorded with the Woods surname. That placed it at #203 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Woods surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 32,252 in 2016. That gives Woods a modern rank of #166.

What does the Woods surname mean?

An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood or forest.

What does the Woods map show?

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