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

Woodside, 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 Woodside surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Woodside in America

Woodside is the 9273rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Woodside surname appeared 3,511 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 Woodside.

We can also compare 2010 data for Woodside 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 Woodside

The surname Woodside has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "wudu" meaning wood and "side" referring to a slope or hillside. Thus, the name originally referred to someone who lived near a wooded hillside or slope.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Woodside can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landowners and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appeared as "Wodeside" in this historical document.

During the 13th century, the name was also spelled as "Woddesyde" and "Wodsyde" in various historical records and manuscripts. These variations in spelling were common during that era, as standardized spellings had not yet been established.

The Woodside name is also associated with several place names in England, such as Woodside in Gloucestershire and Woodside in Hertfordshire. These place names likely influenced the adoption of the surname by families residing in those areas.

One notable figure with the surname Woodside was Sir John Woodside (1546-1612), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Hampshire in the late 16th century.

Another prominent individual was Samuel Woodside (1734-1800), a Scottish-born American Revolutionary War soldier and pioneer who settled in western Pennsylvania and established the town of Woodside, which was later renamed Elizabethtown.

In the 19th century, James Woodside (1808-1879) was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist and politician who played a significant role in the development of the wool industry in Victoria, Australia.

William Woodside (1835-1918) was a Scottish-born American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Woodside Pottery Company in East Liverpool, Ohio, which became one of the largest pottery manufacturers in the United States.

Lastly, John Woodside (1896-1968) was a British actor and film producer who appeared in numerous films during the early 20th century, including some of the earliest adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories.

These examples illustrate the longstanding history and diverse backgrounds of individuals bearing the surname Woodside, which has its roots in the medieval English landscape and has since spread to various parts of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Woodside

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

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

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

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