2000
#5,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,319
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.97
Rare Last name
Woodman
An occupational surname referring to a forest worker or someone who gathers or sells wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,734 Americans carry the last name Woodman. That puts it at #6,528 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,776 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodman 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 Woodman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.7K
1 in 59,776
Census rank
#6,528
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,000 bearers of the surname Woodman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6528th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodman, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodman
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodman, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodman 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 Woodman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 4,405
- Two or more races3.9% · 195
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 168
- Black or African American2.2% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodman
Woodman 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
#6,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,505
+186 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Down 254 places
2020
#6,528
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,000
-505 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Down 315 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,959 | 5,319 | 1.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,213 | 5,505 | 1.87 | +186 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 254 places |
| 2020 | #6,528 | 5,000 | 1.67 | -505 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 315 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 Woodman 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 | #6,213 | #6,528 | -5.1% |
| Count | 5,505 | 5,000 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.87 | 1.67 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodman bearers went from 5,505 to 5,000 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 315 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,213 to #6,528.
FAQ
Woodman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodman?
Name Census estimates that about 5,734 living Americans carry the surname Woodman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,776 residents.
How common is Woodman?
Woodman ranks #6,528 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.67 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 5,000 people with the surname Woodman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,734), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.67 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 Woodman.
Has Woodman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodman went from 5,505 recorded bearers to 5,000. That is a decrease of 505 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,213 to #6,528.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodman, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Woodman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (4,405 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Woodman (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 Woodman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a forest worker or someone who gathers or sells 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 Woodman (1.67 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 Woodman?
If you just want to know how common the surname Woodman is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.