Woods Surname

Meaning and origin of the surname Woods

Topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a woodland or forest, or patronymic 'son of Wood', from Middle English wode and Old English wudu ('wood', 'forest').

Historically and linguistically, Woods belongs to the English and Scottish family of surnames. It is conventionally pronounced "WOODZ".

United States Census frequency and ranking

In the official 2010 United States Census, Woods was recorded 177,425 times, ranking as the 144th most common surname in the nation.

This represents an incidence rate of approximately 60.15 bearers per 100,000 Americans, or roughly 1 out of every 1,663 residents.

Race and ethnicity distribution

According to official decennial Census genealogy microdata, individuals bearing the surname Woodsreported the following racial and ethnic affiliations in the 2010 US Census:

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Surnames Data. Percentages may not sum to exactly 100% due to independent rounding or suppression of small cell counts for privacy protection.

History of the surname Woods

Woods is an English and Scottish topographic surname denoting an individual who dwelled within, adjacent to, or worked in a dense forest or woodland. It derives from Old English wudu (cognate with Old Norse viðr and Old High German witu), which became wode in Middle English. The addition of the terminal '-s' represents either a local genitive locational marker ('at the woods') or a patronymic filiation meaning 'son of Wood'.

In medieval records, the name appears early, such as Walter de la Wode in the 1242 Book of Fees for Herefordshire and Robert atte Wode in the 1275 Hundred Rolls. As forests covered substantial portions of the British landscape, the surname emerged independently across dozens of shires. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, bearers of Woods migrated widely to colonial Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.

In the 2010 United States Census, Woods ranked 144th nationally with 177,425 recorded bearers (60.15 per 100,000 Americans), with 35.3 percent identifying as Black or African American. The surname is globally celebrated through legendary 15-time major golf champion Tiger Woods, acclaimed dramatic actor James Woods, and bebop saxophonist Phil Woods.

Notable people with the surname Woods

• Tiger Woods (1975–), Iconic American golfer, 15-time major champion, tied for most PGA Tour victories in history
• James Woods (1947–), American actor, three-time Emmy winner and two-time Academy Award nominee known for Casino and Salvador
• Phil Woods (1931–2015), American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and four-time Grammy Award winner
• Donald Woods (1933–2001), South African journalist, anti-apartheid activist, and author of Biko