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

Portwood, 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 Portwood surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Portwood in America

Portwood is the 14299th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Portwood surname appeared 2,093 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Portwood.

We can also compare 2010 data for Portwood 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 Portwood

The surname Portwood is of English origin, derived from a geographical name referring to a location near a port or harbor. The name can be traced back to the 12th century in various parts of England, particularly in areas with significant maritime activity or trade.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Portwood can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1190, where a person named Richard de Portwode is mentioned. This spelling variation suggests that the name may have originated from a place called "Portwood" or a similar-sounding location.

During the 13th century, the surname appears in various medieval records, including the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which lists a William de Portwode. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327 also mention a John de Portwode, indicating the widespread distribution of the name across different regions.

The Portwood surname is believed to have evolved from the Old English words "port" and "wudu," which together mean "the wood near the port or harbor." This etymology suggests that the name may have originated from a wooded area situated close to a port or a coastal settlement.

Over time, the spelling of the surname has undergone various transformations, with variants such as Portewood, Portwode, and Portwude appearing in historical records before the modern spelling of Portwood became more standardized.

One notable bearer of the Portwood surname was Sir Henry Portwood (1569-1646), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Middlesex in the early 17th century. Another prominent figure was John Portwood (1682-1754), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.

In the 18th century, the Portwood surname can be found in various parish records and registers, such as the baptismal record of William Portwood in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, in 1730. Additionally, the marriage of Mary Portwood and John Bates was recorded in the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, in 1758.

Other notable individuals with the Portwood surname include Sir Roger Portwood (1703-1785), a British naval officer who served during the War of the Austrian Succession, and William Portwood (1855-1932), an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Portwood

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

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 Portwood 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 Portwood 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 Portwood was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!