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

Woodman, 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 Woodman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Woodman in America

Woodman is the 6213th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Woodman surname appeared 5,505 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Woodman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Woodman 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 Woodman

The surname Woodman is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "wudu," meaning wood, and "mann," meaning man. It first emerged in the 12th century as an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked in the woods or forests, such as a woodcutter, forester, or charcoal maker.

The name has its roots in various areas of England, particularly in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Essex, where there were large forests and a significant woodworking industry. It is believed that the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195 and the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1216.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Simon le Wodeman, mentioned in the Curia Regis Rolls of Berkshire in 1205. Another notable early reference is in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1273, which lists a certain William Wodeman.

The Woodman surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Wodeman, Wodemon, and Wudeman, reflecting the changes in pronunciation and spelling conventions. Some early examples of place names associated with the surname include Woodmanstone in Surrey and Woodmancott in Hampshire.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Woodman. One of the earliest was John Woodman (c. 1330 - 1390), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Chancellor of Oxford University in the late 14th century.

Another prominent figure was Richard Woodman (1528 - 1594), an English politician and Member of Parliament who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In the 17th century, Thomas Woodman (1592 - 1677) was a Puritan minister and one of the founders of the town of Malden, Massachusetts, in the early colonial period of America.

During the 18th century, John Woodman (1717 - 1792) was a British naval officer who participated in several important battles, including the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. In the 19th century, William Woodman (1839 - 1907) was an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Woodman

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

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

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

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