Woody
A masculine diminutive of the English word "wood" - from the forest.
Name Census estimates that about 2,818 living Americans carry the first name Woody. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Woody today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Woody births was 1946 (116 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Woody. 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.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 121,630 Americans
Peak year
1946
116 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,028
Tracked since 1882
Gender
Gender distribution for Woody
Out of the 4,234 babies given the name Woody since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Woody as a male name
- Ranked #7,688 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1946 (116 births)
Woody as a female name
- Ranked #6,028 in 1948
- 5 female births in 1948
- Peak: 1937 (5 births)
Popularity
Woody: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Woody from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 915 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Woody 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 Woody during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Woodys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, California recorded the most babies named Woody, while West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Woody
The name Woody is a diminutive form of the English name Wood, which originated as a surname referring to someone who lived near or in a wooded area. The name can be traced back to the Old English word "wudu," meaning "wood" or "forest." It is believed to have emerged as a given name in the late 19th century, possibly as a nickname for those with the surname Wood.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Woody as a given name can be found in the 1880 United States Census, where a few individuals were listed with this moniker. However, it wasn't until the early 20th century that the name gained broader popularity, likely influenced by the iconic character Woody Woodpecker, an anthropomorphic woodpecker created by Walter Lantz in 1940.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Woody, including:
1. Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential figures in folk music.
2. Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in 1935), an acclaimed American filmmaker, actor, and comedian known for his distinctive comedic style and intellectual films.
3. Woody Herman (1913-1987), an American jazz clarinetist, singer, and bandleader who led one of the most popular big bands of the 1930s and 1940s.
4. Woody Strode (1914-1994), an American athlete and actor who broke racial barriers in Hollywood and appeared in several notable films, including "Spartacus" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
5. Woody Harrelson (born in 1961), an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Natural Born Killers," "The People vs. Larry Flynt," and the popular sitcom "Cheers."
While the name Woody may have started as a humble nickname or diminutive, it has evolved into a distinctive and recognizable name in its own right, carried by numerous influential figures across various fields throughout history.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Woody
People
Woody + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Woody 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
Woody: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Woody?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,818 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Woody 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 121,630 US residents.
Is Woody a common name?
We classify Woody as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Woody most popular?
The single biggest year for Woody was 1946, when 116 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Woody is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Woody a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Woody 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.