2000
#7,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,999
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Woosley
Derived from a place name meaning "Wulfsige's woodland clearing" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,324 Americans carry the last name Woosley. That puts it at #8,413 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,268 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woosley 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 Woosley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,268
Census rank
#8,413
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,771 bearers of the surname Woosley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8413th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woosley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woosley
The surname Woosley is of English origin, derived from a place name in Derbyshire, England. The name is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century and is thought to be a combination of the Old English words "wudu," meaning wood, and "leah," meaning a clearing or meadow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Wodesleia." This suggests that the name was already in use by the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
In the 13th century, there are records of a family named Wuddesleye residing in the village of Woosley, located in the parish of Hartington, Derbyshire. This village likely took its name from the same Old English roots as the surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the surname Woosley. One such person was Sir John Woosley (c. 1450-1512), who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1498-1499.
Another prominent figure was Sir Edward Woosley (1557-1630), an English politician and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1625 until his death.
In the 17th century, William Woosley (1608-1676) was an English clergyman and academic who served as the Warden of New College, Oxford, from 1661 to 1676.
The 18th century saw the birth of Thomas Woosley (1738-1805), an English cleric and academic who became the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 1790.
In more recent times, Robert Woosley (1921-2009) was a prominent American physicist and weapons designer who played a key role in the development of nuclear weapons during the Manhattan Project.
While the surname Woosley is not among the most common in English-speaking countries, it has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval England and the villages of Derbyshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woosley
Among Census respondents with the surname Woosley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Woosley 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 Woosley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 3,474
- Two or more races2.9% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 97
- Black or African American1.0% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woosley
Woosley 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
#8,198
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,048
+49 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 524 places
2020
#8,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,771
-277 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 215 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,674 | 3,999 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,198 | 4,048 | 1.37 | +49 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 524 places |
| 2020 | #8,413 | 3,771 | 1.26 | -277 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 215 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 Woosley 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 | #8,198 | #8,413 | -2.6% |
| Count | 4,048 | 3,771 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.37 | 1.26 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woosley bearers went from 4,048 to 3,771 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 215 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,198 to #8,413.
FAQ
Woosley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woosley?
Name Census estimates that about 4,324 living Americans carry the surname Woosley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,268 residents.
How common is Woosley?
Woosley ranks #8,413 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 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 3,771 people with the surname Woosley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,324), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 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 Woosley.
Has Woosley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woosley went from 4,048 recorded bearers to 3,771. That is a decrease of 277 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,198 to #8,413.
What does the Census say about the background of Woosley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woosley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Woosley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (3,474 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woosley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Woosley (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 Woosley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Wulfsige's woodland clearing" in Old English. 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 Woosley (1.26 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 share the surname Woosley?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.