2000
#3,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,278
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.44
Uncommon Last name
Woodworth
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a wood or forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,076 Americans carry the last name Woodworth. That puts it at #3,922 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,017 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woodworth 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 Woodworth with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 34,017
Census rank
#3,922
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,787 bearers of the surname Woodworth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3922nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woodworth
The surname Woodworth is an English locational name derived from the Old English words 'wudu' meaning wood and 'worð' meaning an enclosure or homestead. It originates from places called Woodworth in Lancashire and Norfolk, England, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name hailed from these areas.
The name Woodworth first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Wodewrde' and 'Wodeword', referring to landowners or tenants in various counties across England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Richard de Woodworth, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1199.
In the 13th century, the name Woodworth is found in various records, such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it appears as 'Wodewrth' and 'Wudewurth'. During this period, the spelling of the name varied greatly, with variations like 'Wodword', 'Woodewurth', and 'Woodeworth' appearing in different records.
Notable individuals with the surname Woodworth include John Woodworth (1590-1668), a prominent English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Stafford from 1628 to 1629. Another early bearer of the name was Arthur Woodworth (1642-1712), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
In the 18th century, James Woodworth (1720-1783) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Academy of Arts and the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
During the American Revolutionary War, Samuel Woodworth (1757-1826) was a soldier and writer who is best known for his poem "The Old Oaken Bucket". He was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, and his family's ancestry can be traced back to early English settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Another notable figure was John Woodworth (1768-1858), an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Representative from New York from 1819 to 1823. He was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and was a descendant of one of the earliest Woodworth settlers in the American colonies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woodworth
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Woodworth 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 Woodworth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 7,986
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 309
- Two or more races3.5% · 309
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 79
- Black or African American0.6% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woodworth
Woodworth 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
#3,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,361
+83 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 3.17
Rank movement Down 263 places
2020
#3,922
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,787
-574 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 2.94
Rank movement Down 140 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,519 | 9,278 | 3.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,782 | 9,361 | 3.17 | +83 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 263 places |
| 2020 | #3,922 | 8,787 | 2.94 | -574 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 140 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 Woodworth 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 | #3,782 | #3,922 | -3.7% |
| Count | 9,361 | 8,787 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.17 | 2.94 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woodworth bearers went from 9,361 to 8,787 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 140 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,782 to #3,922.
FAQ
Woodworth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woodworth?
Name Census estimates that about 10,076 living Americans carry the surname Woodworth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,017 residents.
How common is Woodworth?
Woodworth ranks #3,922 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,787 people with the surname Woodworth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,076), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Woodworth.
Has Woodworth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woodworth went from 9,361 recorded bearers to 8,787. That is a decrease of 574 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,782 to #3,922.
What does the Census say about the background of Woodworth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woodworth, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Woodworth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (7,986 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woodworth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Woodworth (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 Woodworth mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a wood or 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 Woodworth (2.94 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 Woodworth?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Woodworth on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.