2000
#7,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,917
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.45
Rare Last name
Woodhouse
A locational surname referring to someone who lived in or near a house in the woods.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,391 Americans carry the last name Woodhouse. That puts it at #8,282 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,058 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodhouse 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 Woodhouse with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,058
Census rank
#8,282
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,829 bearers of the surname Woodhouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8282nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woodhouse
The surname Woodhouse is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words 'wudu' meaning wood and 'hus' meaning house. It initially referred to someone who lived in a house located in or near a wooded area. The name can be traced back to the 11th century and the time of the Norman Conquest of England.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Woodhouse dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, including Woodehus and Wodehous, reflecting the phonetic variations common during that era.
The Woodhouse surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where several villages and hamlets bore the name, such as Woodhouse in Yorkshire and Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire. These place names likely contributed to the proliferation of the surname in those regions.
Notable historical figures bearing the Woodhouse surname include Sir Michael Woodhouse (1544-1619), an English judge and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent individual was James Woodhouse (1735-1809), an English mathematician and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of differential calculus and probability theory.
In the literary world, John Woodhouse (1603-1654) was a renowned English Puritan minister and author, best known for his work 'A Treatise on the Lord's Supper.' Additionally, Robert Woodhouse (1773-1827) was an English mathematician and scholar who published several works on astronomy and the calculus.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the Woodhouse name was associated with various noble families and landowners across England. For instance, the Woodhouse family of Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire held considerable influence and property in the region for several generations.
While the surname Woodhouse may have evolved from its original geographic connotation, it has maintained a strong presence in English history, with numerous individuals bearing the name leaving their mark across various fields, including law, literature, science, and politics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodhouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodhouse 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 Woodhouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.8% · 2,672
- Black or African American21.8% · 835
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 140
- Two or more races3.6% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodhouse
Woodhouse 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
#8,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,985
+68 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 477 places
2020
#8,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,829
-156 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Up 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,839 | 3,917 | 1.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,316 | 3,985 | 1.35 | +68 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 477 places |
| 2020 | #8,282 | 3,829 | 1.28 | -156 bearers (-3.9%) | Up 34 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 Woodhouse 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 | #8,316 | #8,282 | 0.4% |
| Count | 3,985 | 3,829 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.35 | 1.28 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodhouse bearers went from 3,985 to 3,829 (-3.9% change). The surname moved up 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,316 to #8,282.
FAQ
Woodhouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodhouse?
Name Census estimates that about 4,391 living Americans carry the surname Woodhouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,058 residents.
How common is Woodhouse?
Woodhouse ranks #8,282 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,829 people with the surname Woodhouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,391), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Woodhouse.
Has Woodhouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodhouse went from 3,985 recorded bearers to 3,829. That is a decrease of 156 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,316 to #8,282.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodhouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Woodhouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (2,672 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodhouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.8%), Black (21.8%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Woodhouse (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 Woodhouse mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived in or near a house in the woods. 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 Woodhouse (1.28 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 common is the surname Woodhouse?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Woodhouse, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.