2000
#4,690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,908
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.56
Rare Last name
Woodbury
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the places named Woodbury, meaning "fortified place in a wood."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,973 Americans carry the last name Woodbury. That puts it at #4,920 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,989 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodbury 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 Woodbury with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.0K
1 in 42,989
Census rank
#4,920
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,953 bearers of the surname Woodbury in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4920th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woodbury
The surname WOODBURY originated in England, with the earliest records dating back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words "wudu" meaning wood and "bury" meaning a fortified town or manor. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a wooded manor or town.
One of the earliest known references to the name WOODBURY appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a "Willelmus de Wudebury" who held lands in Gloucestershire.
During the medieval period, various spellings of the name were used, including Wodebury, Wodbury, and Woodbery. These variations reflect the evolution of the English language and the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping at the time.
In the 13th century, a prominent figure named William de Woodbury was recorded as the Lord of the Manor of Woodbury in Devon. This indicates that the name was associated with a specific location and could have been adopted by those residing in or near the manor.
Another noteworthy individual with the surname WOODBURY was Sir John Woodbury, who lived in the 15th century and served as a Member of Parliament for Herefordshire in 1472. He was also appointed as a Justice of the Peace for the county.
In the 16th century, a family of WOODBURY's held land and property in the village of Woodbury, near Exeter in Devon. One member of this family, John Woodbury, was born in 1540 and served as a local magistrate and landowner.
During the 17th century, the WOODBURY name gained prominence in the American colonies. One of the earliest settlers with this surname was John Woodbury, who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1624. He later became a prominent figure in the colony and served as a magistrate and representative in the General Court.
Throughout the centuries, the WOODBURY surname has been carried by various individuals across different fields, including literature, politics, and military service. For instance, Isaac Woodbury (1784-1857) was an American poet and author, while Levi Woodbury (1789-1851) served as a United States Senator and Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson.
These examples illustrate the rich history and origins of the surname WOODBURY, which can be traced back to medieval England and has since spread to various parts of the world, being borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodbury
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodbury 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 Woodbury surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.4% · 5,657
- Black or African American10.2% · 711
- Two or more races3.8% · 261
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 235
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodbury
Woodbury 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
#4,924
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,144
+236 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 234 places
2020
#4,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,953
-191 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Up 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,690 | 6,908 | 2.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,924 | 7,144 | 2.42 | +236 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 234 places |
| 2020 | #4,920 | 6,953 | 2.33 | -191 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 4 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 Woodbury 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 | #4,924 | #4,920 | 0.1% |
| Count | 7,144 | 6,953 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.42 | 2.33 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodbury bearers went from 7,144 to 6,953 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,924 to #4,920.
FAQ
Woodbury surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodbury?
Name Census estimates that about 7,973 living Americans carry the surname Woodbury. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,989 residents.
How common is Woodbury?
Woodbury ranks #4,920 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,953 people with the surname Woodbury. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,973), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Woodbury.
Has Woodbury become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodbury went from 7,144 recorded bearers to 6,953. That is a decrease of 191 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,924 to #4,920.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodbury?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodbury, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Woodbury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (5,657 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodbury appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.4%), Black (10.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Woodbury (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 Woodbury mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the places named Woodbury, meaning "fortified place in 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 Woodbury (2.33 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 last name Woodbury?
Find out how many people are called Woodbury on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.