Find out how popular the last name Greenwood is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Greenwood.

Greenwood, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Greenwood surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Greenwood in America

Greenwood is the 1422nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Greenwood surname appeared 24,971 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Greenwood.

We can also compare 2010 data for Greenwood to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Greenwood

The surname Greenwood is of English origin, originating in the 13th century. It is a topographic name, derived from the Old English words "grene" meaning green and "wudu" meaning wood, referring to someone who lived near or in a green wood or forest.

The name is found in early records such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "de Grenewode" and "de Grenewode". It is also recorded in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379, as "del Grenewode".

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John de Grenewode, who is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire in 1327. Another early bearer was Thomas de Grenewode, recorded in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1348.

The name is also associated with several place names in England, such as Greenwood in Lancashire and Greenwood in Nottinghamshire. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname.

Notable individuals with the surname Greenwood throughout history include:

1. John Greenwood (c. 1555-1593), an English Puritan minister and writer who was executed for his beliefs during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

2. Thomas Greenwood (1638-1694), an English nonconformist minister and author.

3. Miles Greenwood (1807-1855), an English mechanical engineer and inventor who developed the Greenwood Stretcher, a device used in the textile industry.

4. Alfred Greenwood (1847-1927), an English journalist and editor of the Pall Mall Gazette.

5. Walter Greenwood (1903-1974), an English novelist best known for his novel "Love on the Dole", which depicted the harsh realities of life in the Great Depression.

While the surname Greenwood is predominantly English in origin, it has also been adopted by families in other countries, particularly in the United States and Canada, due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Greenwood

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Greenwood.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Greenwood was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Greenwood has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Greenwood was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Greenwood, please contact us.

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