2000
#75
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 247,299
First available Census row
Per 100,000 91.67
Common Last name
Wood
An English occupational surname for someone who lived or worked in or near a wood or forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 274,008 Americans carry the last name Wood. That puts it at #91 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 79.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,251 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wood 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 Wood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
274K
1 in 1,251
Census rank
#91
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
79.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
239K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 238,948 bearers of the surname Wood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 79.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 91st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wood, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wood
The surname WOOD is an English surname that originated as a topographic name for someone who lived by or in a wood or forest. It is derived from the Old English word 'wudu' meaning wood or forest. The name can be traced back to the 12th century in various records and manuscripts from that time.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname WOOD is found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199, which mention a Robert de Wude. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several people with the name WOOD, including John del Wode and William de la Wode. These early spellings highlight the topographic origin of the name, with the prepositions 'de' and 'del' indicating someone living near or by a wood.
The surname WOOD is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. The book mentions several places with the name 'Wode', such as Wode in Hampshire and Wode in Buckinghamshire, which may have been the locations from where some early WOOD families derived their name.
One notable person with the surname WOOD was Sir Andrew Wood (c. 1455-1542), a Scottish naval captain and merchant who played a significant role in the naval battles between Scotland and England in the 16th century. Another famous bearer of the name was Robert Wood (1622-1685), an English mathematician and geographer who wrote several important works on navigation and astronomy.
Other notable individuals with the surname WOOD include:
1. Leonard Wood (1860-1927), an American military officer and Medal of Honor recipient.
2. Grant Wood (1891-1942), an American painter best known for his iconic work 'American Gothic'.
3. Samuel Wood (1609-1681), an early English settler in colonial Massachusetts and a prominent figure in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
4. Natalie Wood (1938-1981), an American actress who starred in numerous films, including 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'West Side Story'.
5. Evan Rachel Wood (born 1987), an American actress known for her roles in films like 'Thirteen' and the HBO series 'Westworld'.
The surname WOOD has been widespread throughout England and Scotland for centuries and is now found across many parts of the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wood
Among Census respondents with the surname Wood, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Wood 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 Wood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 204,530
- Black or African American5.2% · 12,504
- Two or more races4.1% · 9,868
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 8,250
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1,984
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,812
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wood
Wood 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
#84
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 250,715
+3,416 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 84.99
Rank movement Down 9 places
2020
#91
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 238,948
-11,767 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 79.94
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #75 | 247,299 | 91.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #84 | 250,715 | 84.99 | +3,416 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 9 places |
| 2020 | #91 | 238,948 | 79.94 | -11,767 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 7 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 Wood 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 | #84 | #91 | -8.3% |
| Count | 250,715 | 238,948 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 84.99 | 79.94 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wood bearers went from 250,715 to 238,948 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #84 to #91.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wood
FAQ
Wood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wood?
Name Census estimates that about 274,008 living Americans carry the surname Wood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,251 residents.
How common is Wood?
Wood ranks #91 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 79.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 80 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 238,948 people with the surname Wood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (274,008), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 79.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 79.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 80 of them to have the surname Wood.
Has Wood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wood went from 250,715 recorded bearers to 238,948. That is a decrease of 11,767 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #84 to #91.
What does the Census say about the background of Wood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wood, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Wood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (204,530 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Black (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Wood (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 Wood mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who lived or worked in or near 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 Wood (79.94 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 Wood?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Wood, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.