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

Redwood, 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 Redwood surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Redwood in America

Redwood is the 27869th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Redwood surname appeared 861 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Redwood.

We can also compare 2010 data for Redwood 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 Redwood

The surname Redwood is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "read" meaning red, and "wudu" meaning wood. It likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a forest with an abundance of redwood trees.

The name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, particularly in areas with a significant number of redwood trees, such as the counties of Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset. Early spellings of the name included Redewode, Redwod, and Redwude.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Redwood appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Richard de Redwode is listed as a landowner in Somerset. Another early mention can be found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1310, which references a John Redwode.

The Redwood surname is also found in various medieval manuscripts and records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327, where a Thomas Redwode is mentioned. The name is also present in the Lay Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1334, listing a Roger Redwode.

Prominent individuals with the Redwood surname throughout history include Sir Bevil Redwood (1602-1642), an English soldier and Member of Parliament who fought for the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. John Redwood (born 1951) is a British politician and former Secretary of State for Wales.

Other notable bearers of the Redwood surname include Mary Redwood (1689-1772), an English botanist and illustrator, and Thomas Redwood (1786-1857), an English chemist and professor known for his work on the properties of various gases.

In the United States, the Redwood surname can be traced back to the early colonial period, with records showing individuals with the name settling in Virginia and Massachusetts in the 17th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name in America was John Redwood, who was listed as a landowner in Virginia in the 1620s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Redwood

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

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

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

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