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

Woodfin, 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 Woodfin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Woodfin in America

Woodfin is the 15127th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Woodfin surname appeared 1,949 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 Woodfin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Woodfin 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 Woodfin

The surname Woodfin originates from England and dates back to the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "wudu" meaning wood and "fynn" meaning a marsh or fen, suggesting it was initially used to describe someone who lived near a wooded marsh or swamp area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Woodfin can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a Robert de Wudefyn is mentioned. These rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer during the medieval period.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as Wodefen, Wodfeyn, and Wodefyn in various legal documents and records from counties like Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Wiltshire. This suggests that the name was initially concentrated in the southern and western regions of England.

The Woodfin name can also be traced to the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded a landowner named Radulfus de Wudafana in Huntingdonshire. This entry provides evidence of the name's existence in the years immediately following the Norman Conquest of England.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the Woodfin surname include Sir Thomas Woodfin (1556-1618), a prominent English merchant and diplomat during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and John Woodfin (1720-1793), a colonial American pioneer and landowner in Virginia.

Another significant figure was William Woodfin (1768-1838), a U.S. Congressman from Virginia who served multiple terms in the House of Representatives during the early 19th century. His grandson, Samuel Woodfin (1836-1915), was a decorated Union Army officer during the American Civil War.

The Woodfin name has also been associated with several place names, such as Woodfin Ridge in North Carolina and the town of Woodfin in the same state, which was likely named after a local landowner or early settler.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Woodfin

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

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

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

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