2000
#13,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,151
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Woodberry
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a fortified building in or near a wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,568 Americans carry the last name Woodberry. That puts it at #13,099 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,471 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodberry 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 Woodberry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,471
Census rank
#13,099
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,239 bearers of the surname Woodberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13099th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodberry, the largest self-reported group is Black at 75.7%. The next largest groups are White (15.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woodberry
The surname Woodberry is of English origin and dates back to the medieval era. It is a locational name derived from the place name "Wood Berry," which is believed to have originated from the Old English words "wudu" meaning "wood" and "berige" meaning "berry." The name likely referred to a place where berry-bearing trees or bushes grew in a wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Woodberry can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire from the year 1195, where it is listed as "de Wodeberge." This suggests that the name was initially associated with a location or settlement bearing a similar name.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms such as "Wodebery," "Wodebury," and "Wodeberie" in various records from counties like Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire. These variations in spelling were common during that time due to the lack of standardized orthography.
The Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a "William de Wodebergh" and a "Robert de Wodebergh," both from the county of Oxfordshire. These entries provide evidence of the surname's early presence and suggest that the name was well-established by that period.
During the 14th century, the surname Woodberry continued to appear in various records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a "John Wodebery" is listed. The Lay Subsidy Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1334 also mention a "Thomas de Wodebury."
Notable individuals bearing the surname Woodberry throughout history include:
1. Thomas Woodberry (c. 1550 - 1617), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.
2. John Woodberry (1637 - 1701), an English Puritan minister and author who wrote several religious texts, including "The Faithful Watchman's Seasonable Warning."
3. George Edward Woodberry (1855 - 1930), an American literary critic, poet, and educator who taught at Columbia University and was known for his biographies of authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
4. William Woodberry (1874 - 1952), an English artist and illustrator who was best known for his etchings and engravings depicting rural scenes and landscapes.
5. John Woodberry Jr. (1768 - 1836), an American merchant and shipowner from Salem, Massachusetts, who played a significant role in the maritime trade between New England and the West Indies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The surname Woodberry has a rich history rooted in the English countryside and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including clergymen, academics, artists, and merchants, over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodberry, the largest self-reported group is Black at 75.7%. The next largest groups are White (15.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodberry 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 Woodberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.7% · 1,696
- White15.1% · 339
- Two or more races5.4% · 121
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodberry
Woodberry 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
#13,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,284
+133 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 291 places
2020
#13,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,239
-45 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 250 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,058 | 2,151 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,349 | 2,284 | 0.77 | +133 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 291 places |
| 2020 | #13,099 | 2,239 | 0.75 | -45 bearers (-2.0%) | Up 250 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 Woodberry 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 | #13,349 | #13,099 | 1.9% |
| Count | 2,284 | 2,239 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.75 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodberry bearers went from 2,284 to 2,239 (-2.0% change). The surname moved up 250 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,349 to #13,099.
FAQ
Woodberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodberry?
Name Census estimates that about 2,568 living Americans carry the surname Woodberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,471 residents.
How common is Woodberry?
Woodberry ranks #13,099 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,239 people with the surname Woodberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,568), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Woodberry.
Has Woodberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodberry went from 2,284 recorded bearers to 2,239. That is a decrease of 45 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,349 to #13,099.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodberry, the largest self-reported group is Black at 75.7%. The next largest groups are White (15.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Woodberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (1,696 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (75.7%), White (15.1%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Woodberry (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 Woodberry mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a fortified building in or near a wood. 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 Woodberry (0.75 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 are called Woodberry?
Find out how many people have the last name Woodberry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.