Woodensley
A whimsical invented name suggestive of a woodland dwelling or environment.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Woodensley. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Woodensley today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Woodensley births was 2021 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Woodensley. 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 Woodensley. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2021
5 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,220
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Woodensley: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Woodensley 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 Woodensley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Woodensley
The given name Woodensley is believed to have originated from the Old English words "wudu" meaning wood, and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest. This suggests that the name's roots can be traced back to the Germanic tribes that inhabited the British Isles during the 5th to 11th centuries.
The name Woodensley likely referred to someone who lived in a wooden dwelling or a homestead situated in a forest clearing. It was not an uncommon practice for early English settlers to derive names from their surroundings or occupations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Woodensley can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Woodensley who held a manor in the county of Essex.
During the Middle Ages, the name Woodensley appeared occasionally in various ecclesiastical records and parish registers across England. A notable bearer of the name was Woodensley de Wodenesleye, a monk and scholar who lived in the 13th century and authored several treatises on theology and philosophy.
In the 16th century, a merchant named Woodensley Baxster gained prominence in the city of Bristol for his successful trading ventures with the New World colonies. His legacy is preserved in the form of a stained-glass window dedicated to him in the Bristol Cathedral.
Another figure of historical significance was Woodensley Cromwell, a distant relative of Oliver Cromwell, who served as a captain in the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War (1642-1651). He is known for his bravery in the Battle of Naseby in 1645.
During the 18th century, a renowned botanist named Woodensley Fairchild (1692-1766) made significant contributions to the study of plant life. He is credited with introducing numerous exotic plant species to Europe from his travels around the world.
While the name Woodensley may have fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English naming traditions, reflecting the nation's historic ties to the land and its forests.
People
Woodensley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Woodensley 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
Woodensley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Woodensley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Woodensley 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Woodensley a common name?
We classify Woodensley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Woodensley most popular?
The single biggest year for Woodensley was 2021, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Woodensley is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Woodensley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Woodensley a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Woodensley 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.
Is Woodensley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Woodensley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Woodensley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Woodensley?
Want to know how many people have the name Woodensley? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.