2000
#7,545
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,065
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Woodland
An English toponymic surname denoting someone who lived near or in a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,908 Americans carry the last name Woodland. That puts it at #7,500 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,836 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodland 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 Woodland with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 69,836
Census rank
#7,500
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,280 bearers of the surname Woodland in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7500th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodland, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woodland
The surname Woodland originates from England, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is a locational surname, derived from the Old English words "wudu" meaning wood, and "land" meaning land or estate. This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked on a heavily wooded area or estate.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Woodland surname can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Roger de Wodeland is mentioned in Oxfordshire. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, listed as William de Wodelaunde.
During the Middle Ages, the Woodland name was particularly concentrated in the counties of Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, and Gloucestershire. This could indicate that the name originated in one of these areas, where heavily forested lands were abundant.
In the 16th century, the Woodland surname is recorded in the parish registers of St. Giles in Cripplegate, London. An entry from 1576 mentions the marriage of Richard Woodland and Jane Skynner.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the Woodland surname was John Woodland (c.1530-1592), an English Protestant reformer and Marian exile. He was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, and fled to Frankfurt during the reign of Queen Mary I.
Another notable bearer of the Woodland name was Sir William Woodland (1584-1668), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Coventry in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, Thomas Woodland (1735-1808) was a prominent English architect and surveyor who designed several churches and public buildings in the West Midlands region.
During the 19th century, the Woodland surname spread further across England, as well as to other parts of the British Isles and beyond. One notable individual from this period was William Woodland (1810-1890), a British landscape painter and illustrator known for his scenes of rural England.
Finally, in the early 20th century, Sir Howard Douglas Woodland (1870-1958) was a British civil engineer and pioneering aviator, best known for his work in developing early aircraft designs and contributing to the development of aviation technology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodland
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodland, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodland 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 Woodland surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.6% · 2,636
- Black or African American30.1% · 1,288
- Two or more races4.2% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodland
Woodland 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
#7,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,280
+215 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Down 213 places
2020
#7,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,280
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Up 258 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,545 | 4,065 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,758 | 4,280 | 1.45 | +215 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 213 places |
| 2020 | #7,500 | 4,280 | 1.43 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 258 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 Woodland 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 | #7,758 | #7,500 | 3.3% |
| Count | 4,280 | 4,280 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.45 | 1.43 | -1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodland bearers went from 4,280 to 4,280 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 258 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,758 to #7,500.
FAQ
Woodland surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodland?
Name Census estimates that about 4,908 living Americans carry the surname Woodland. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,836 residents.
How common is Woodland?
Woodland ranks #7,500 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.43 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 4,280 people with the surname Woodland. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,908), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.43 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 Woodland.
Has Woodland become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodland went from 4,280 recorded bearers to 4,280. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,758 to #7,500.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodland?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodland, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Woodland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.6% (2,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodland appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.6%), Black (30.1%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Woodland (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 Woodland mean?
An English toponymic surname denoting someone who lived near or in a 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 Woodland (1.43 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 Americans have the surname Woodland?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.