2000
#7,093
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,346
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.61
Rare Last name
Woolf
An English toponymic surname derived from the Old English wulf, meaning "wolf," likely referring to someone living near a wolf habitat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,979 Americans carry the last name Woolf. That puts it at #7,407 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,840 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woolf 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 Woolf with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.0K
1 in 68,840
Census rank
#7,407
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,342 bearers of the surname Woolf in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7407th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woolf, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woolf
Among Census respondents with the surname Woolf, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Woolf 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 Woolf surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 3,865
- Two or more races4.4% · 192
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 171
- Black or African American1.4% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woolf
Woolf 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
#7,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,485
+139 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Down 333 places
2020
#7,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,342
-143 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Up 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,093 | 4,346 | 1.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,426 | 4,485 | 1.52 | +139 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 333 places |
| 2020 | #7,407 | 4,342 | 1.45 | -143 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 19 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 Woolf 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 | #7,426 | #7,407 | 0.3% |
| Count | 4,485 | 4,342 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.52 | 1.45 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woolf bearers went from 4,485 to 4,342 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,426 to #7,407.
FAQ
Woolf surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woolf?
Name Census estimates that about 4,979 living Americans carry the surname Woolf. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,840 residents.
How common is Woolf?
Woolf ranks #7,407 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,342 people with the surname Woolf. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,979), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Woolf.
Has Woolf become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woolf went from 4,485 recorded bearers to 4,342. That is a decrease of 143 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,426 to #7,407.
What does the Census say about the background of Woolf?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woolf, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Woolf in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (3,865 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woolf appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Woolf (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 Woolf mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from the Old English wulf, meaning "wolf," likely referring to someone living near a wolf habitat. 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 Woolf (1.45 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 are called Woolf?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Woolf at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.