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

Woolf, 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 Woolf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Woolf in America

Woolf is the 7426th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Woolf surname appeared 4,485 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 Woolf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Woolf 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 Woolf

The surname Woolf originated in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "wulf," meaning wolf, which was likely used as a nickname for a fierce or courageous person. The name may also have been given to someone who lived near a wooded area inhabited by wolves.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1190, where a person named Wluric Wulf is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several individuals with variations of the name, such as Willelmus Wolf and Johannes le Wolfe.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England, there are references to places like Wulfpit and Wulfmere, which may have influenced the development of the surname.

The name Woolf was particularly prevalent in counties like Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, where many families bearing the name were landowners or members of the gentry class.

One notable figure in history with the surname Woolf was Sir John Woolf (1513-1573), an English diplomat and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another was Captain John Woolf (1756-1833), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War.

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), the renowned English writer and one of the foremost modernist authors of the 20th century, is perhaps the most famous individual with the surname Woolf. Her novels, such as "Mrs. Dalloway" and "To the Lighthouse," are considered literary masterpieces.

Other prominent individuals with the name include Arthur Woolf (1766-1837), an English engineer and inventor of the compound steam engine, and Berthold Woolf (1884-1971), a German-born American engineer and pioneer in the field of reinforced concrete construction.

Over time, the name Woolf has been subject to various spellings, including Wolfe, Wulff, and Wulf, reflecting its linguistic evolution and regional variations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Woolf

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

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

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

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