Wood
A nature-inspired name derived from a woodland environment.
Name Census estimates that about 82 living Americans carry the first name Wood. It is a predominantly male name (98.1% of registrations). The average person named Wood today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wood births was 2023 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wood. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wood. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
82
~ 1 in 4,179,931 Americans
Peak year
2023
22 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,802
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Wood
Wood leans heavily male at 98.1% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Wood as a male name
- Ranked #9,802 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (16 births)
Wood as a female name
- Ranked #15,069 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (6 births)
Popularity
Wood: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wood from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 85 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Wood remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wood by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Wood during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Woods live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wood
The name Wood has its origins in Old English, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain. It is derived from the Old English word "wudu," which means "wood" or "forest." The name was likely originally given to individuals who lived near or worked with wood, such as foresters, woodcutters, or carpenters.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wood can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, including "Wude," "Wode," and "Wudu."
In medieval times, the name Wood was associated with the concept of the "Green Man," a legendary figure representing the cycle of growth and renewal in nature. This symbolic figure was often depicted in carvings and sculptures adorning churches and buildings, with a face surrounded by foliage or branches.
One notable historical figure with the name Wood was Thomas Wood (c. 1580-1630), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in the early 17th century. He was known for his sermons and religious writings.
Another famous bearer of the name was Sir Henry Wood (1869-1944), an English conductor and composer who founded the Promenade Concerts, also known as the "Proms." These concerts, which continue to this day, were instrumental in promoting classical music to a wider audience in Britain.
In the realm of literature, Audrey Wood (1905-1992) was an American author and illustrator best known for her children's book "The Napping House," published in 1984. The book, which features a cozy house filled with animals and people piled on top of one another for a nap, has become a beloved classic.
Robert Wood (1923-2005), an American aviator and test pilot, made significant contributions to the development of the X-15 rocket-powered aircraft. He was the first pilot to fly the X-15 at hypersonic speeds, reaching over 3,600 mph (5,800 km/h) in 1967.
Grant Wood (1891-1942) was an American painter best known for his iconic work "American Gothic," a portrayal of a stern-faced farmer and his wife standing in front of a white house. The painting, completed in 1930, has become one of the most recognizable and parodied works of American art.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Wood
People
Wood + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wood as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wood: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wood?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wood going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,179,931 US residents.
Is Wood a common name?
We classify Wood as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 319 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wood most popular?
The single biggest year for Wood was 2023, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wood is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wood a male name?
Yes, 98.1% of people registered as Wood in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.