NameCensus.

UK surname

Woof

In the 1881 census there were 483 people recorded with the Woof surname, ranking it #6,948 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 573, ranked #9,014, down from #6,948 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Sedbergh, Lancaster Borough and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Lakeland, Eden and Bradford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Woof is 703 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 18.6%.

1881 census count

483

Ranked #6,948

Modern count

573

2016, ranked #9,014

Peak year

2002

703 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Woof had 483 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,948 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 573 in 2016, ranked #9,014.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 662 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Woof surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Woof surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Woof 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 276 #8,128
1861 historical 238 #10,321
1881 historical 483 #6,948
1891 historical 500 #7,430
1901 historical 603 #7,050
1911 historical 662 #6,345
1997 modern 642 #7,729
1998 modern 663 #7,791
1999 modern 683 #7,659
2000 modern 698 #7,506
2001 modern 670 #7,616
2002 modern 703 #7,483
2003 modern 680 #7,568
2004 modern 679 #7,588
2005 modern 643 #7,832
2006 modern 622 #8,073
2007 modern 628 #8,068
2008 modern 607 #8,330
2009 modern 613 #8,461
2010 modern 621 #8,553
2011 modern 603 #8,660
2012 modern 598 #8,627
2013 modern 610 #8,628
2014 modern 598 #8,822
2015 modern 588 #8,864
2016 modern 573 #9,014

Geography

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Where Woofs are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to South Lakeland, Eden and Bradford. 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 Sedbergh Yorkshire, West Riding
2 Lancaster Borough Lancashire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Greystoke Cumberland

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Lakeland 009 South Lakeland
2 South Lakeland 010 South Lakeland
3 Eden 006 Eden
4 South Lakeland 004 South Lakeland
5 Bradford 004 Bradford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Woof

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Woof

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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Woof surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Woof household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Woof is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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 primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Woof is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

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

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Woof falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Woof 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 Woof, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Woof families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Woof 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. Westmorland leads with 132 Woofs recorded in 1881 and an index of 127.47x.

County Total Index
Westmorland 132 127.47x
Lancashire 90 1.61x
Yorkshire 60 1.29x
Cumberland 46 11.34x
Durham 23 1.64x
Shropshire 23 5.65x
Somerset 20 2.64x
Middlesex 16 0.34x
Surrey 15 0.65x
Devon 12 1.22x
Berkshire 9 2.54x
Cheshire 8 0.77x
Warwickshire 8 0.67x
Northumberland 6 0.86x
Staffordshire 4 0.25x
Gloucestershire 3 0.32x
Worcestershire 2 0.33x
Cornwall 1 0.19x
Dorset 1 0.32x
Hampshire 1 0.10x
Kent 1 0.06x
Oxfordshire 1 0.34x
Sussex 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Farlam in Cumberland leads with 21 Woofs recorded in 1881 and an index of 823.53x.

Place Total Index
Farlam 21 823.53x
Firbank 17 5151.52x
Heversham With Milnthorpe 16 642.57x
North Meols 15 27.41x
Witherslack 15 1704.55x
Gateshead 14 13.34x
Great Strickland 14 3043.48x
Sedbergh 14 813.95x
Slaidburn 14 1750.00x
Kirkleatham 13 206.35x
Lancaster 13 39.07x
Kendal 12 63.29x
Shrewsbury St Julian 12 119.17x
Barrow In Furness 10 13.15x
Killington 10 2500.00x
Toxteth Park 10 5.28x
Beetham 9 562.50x
Darlington 8 14.78x
Greenham 8 454.55x
Appleby St Michael 7 300.43x
Bank Newton 7 4375.00x
Holton 7 2592.59x
Tranmere 7 18.32x
Dalton In Furness 6 27.80x
Maperton 6 1818.18x
Much Wenlock 6 160.00x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 6 14.33x
Watermillock 6 800.00x
Coventry Holy Trinity 5 14.09x
Kensington London 5 1.91x
Lambeth 5 1.22x
North Cheriton 5 1315.79x
Pilkington 5 23.54x
Salford 5 3.04x
St Clement Danes 5 65.53x
Appleby St Lawrence 4 169.49x
Burton Extra 4 43.86x
Bury 4 6.26x
Crosthwaite Lyth 4 320.00x
Everton 4 2.24x
Hutton Soil 4 645.16x
Plymouth Charles The 4 9.26x
Sedburgh 4 205.13x
Southwark St Saviour 4 16.52x
Caldbeck 3 157.89x
Camberwell 3 1.00x
Kirkby Thore 3 357.14x
Manchester 3 1.19x
Newby 3 750.00x
Southwark St George Martyr 3 3.16x
Above Derwent 2 132.45x
Beerferris 2 104.71x
Birmingham 2 0.51x
Bolton 2 307.69x
Bradninch 2 72.20x
Brampton 2 35.97x
Cartmel Fell 2 416.67x
Chulmleigh 2 89.69x
Crosby Ravensworth 2 158.73x
Ecclesall Bierlow 2 2.11x
Hampstead London 2 2.73x
Lindridge 2 128.21x
Liverpool 2 0.59x
Madeley 2 13.40x
Mansergh 2 512.82x
Penrith 2 13.34x
Preston Quarter 2 17.59x
Sheffield 2 1.35x
Shoreditch London 2 0.98x
Skelsmergh 2 333.33x
Stoke Damerel 2 2.91x
Ulverston 2 12.29x
West Derby 2 1.22x
Ashton With Stodday 1 454.55x
Broseley 1 13.83x
Cheltenham 1 1.40x
Hensingham 1 30.21x
Lewisham 1 1.17x
Milbourne 1 256.41x
Williton 1 39.37x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 43
Elizabeth 28
Jane 15
Margaret 14
Isabella 13
Ann 12
Sarah 10
Alice 6
Eliza 5
Ellen 4
Hannah 4
Harriet 4
Agnes 3
Anna 3
Clara 3
Dorothea 3
Emily 3
Emma 3
Fanny 3
Frances 3
Rebecca 3
Bertha 2
Betsy 2
Caroline 2
Catherine 2
Eleanor 2
Esther 2
Harriett 2
Isabell 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Mabel 2
Susan 2
Amelia 1
Beatrice 1
Bessie 1
Elenor 1
Eliz.E. 1
Eliz.M. 1
Elizebeth 1
Ethel 1
Henrietta 1
Isabel 1
Isobella 1
Janet 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Lizzie 1
Lottie 1
Sushanna 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 35
William 34
Thomas 26
Joseph 20
George 17
James 16
Richard 16
Robert 9
Charles 8
Edward 4
Henry 4
Isaac 4
Arthur 3
Harry 3
Walter 3
Abraham 2
Anthony 2
Frederick 2
Peter 2
Richd. 2
Albert 1
Alfred 1
Archibald 1
Bindless 1
Christopher 1
Dick 1
Earnest 1
Edwd.M. 1
Forrest 1
Francis 1
G. 1
Geo. 1
Isac 1
Jackson 1
Louis 1
Nicholas 1
Percy 1
Phil 1
Philip 1
Rd. 1
Sidney 1
W. 1
Willm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Woof surname: questions and answers

How common was the Woof surname in 1881?

In 1881, 483 people were recorded with the Woof surname. That placed it at #6,948 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Woof surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 573 in 2016. That gives Woof a modern rank of #9,014.

What does the Woof map show?

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