2000
#2,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,877
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.89
Uncommon Last name
Woodall
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near or in a wood or forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,708 Americans carry the last name Woodall. That puts it at #2,301 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,356 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodall surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Woodall with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,356
Census rank
#2,301
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,442 bearers of the surname Woodall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2301st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodall, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woodall
The surname Woodall is of English origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words 'wudu' meaning wood and 'halh' meaning a nook or remote valley, thus referring to someone who lived near a wooded valley or remote woodland area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Woodall can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as 'Wudehale' in records from Berkshire.
The name Woodall has several variations in spelling throughout history, including Woodhall, Woodal, Wudall, and Wudehale. These variations often reflect regional dialects and the evolution of language over time. Some of the earliest recorded bearers of the name include Robert de Wudehale, who was documented in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, and William de Wodehale, mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1273.
One notable bearer of the Woodall surname was Sir John Woodall, a surgeon and author born in 1556. He served as the surgeon-general to the East India Company and is credited with introducing various medical innovations, including the use of bark from the willow tree as a treatment for fever. He published a book titled "The Surgeon's Mate" in 1617, which became a standard reference work for naval surgeons.
Another historical figure with the Woodall surname was William Woodall, a prominent English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers in the 16th century. He played a significant role in the development of trade relations between England and the Baltic region.
In the 18th century, Edward Woodall (1737-1819) was a notable English artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings. He was a member of the Royal Academy and his works are held in collections at institutions such as the Tate Gallery and the British Museum.
During the 19th century, Robert Woodall (1821-1879) was a British physician and advocate for public health reforms. He campaigned for the improvement of sanitary conditions in urban areas and contributed to the development of modern public health practices.
The name Woodall is also associated with several place names in England, such as Woodall in Lincolnshire and Woodall Spa in Nottinghamshire, further reinforcing its locational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodall
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodall, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodall bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Woodall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 12,388
- Black or African American11.0% · 1,703
- Two or more races4.4% · 678
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 457
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 133
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 83
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodall
Woodall appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,243
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,260
+383 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 5.51
Rank movement Down 146 places
2020
#2,301
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,442
-818 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 5.17
Rank movement Down 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,097 | 15,877 | 5.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,243 | 16,260 | 5.51 | +383 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 146 places |
| 2020 | #2,301 | 15,442 | 5.17 | -818 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 58 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Woodall surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,243 | #2,301 | -2.6% |
| Count | 16,260 | 15,442 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.51 | 5.17 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodall bearers went from 16,260 to 15,442 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,243 to #2,301.
FAQ
Woodall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodall?
Name Census estimates that about 17,708 living Americans carry the surname Woodall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,356 residents.
How common is Woodall?
Woodall ranks #2,301 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,442 people with the surname Woodall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,708), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Woodall.
Has Woodall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodall went from 16,260 recorded bearers to 15,442. That is a decrease of 818 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,243 to #2,301.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodall, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Woodall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (12,388 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Black (11.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Woodall (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Woodall mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near or in a wood or forest. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Woodall (5.17 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Woodall?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.