2000
#133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 168,814
First available Census row
Per 100,000 62.58
Common Last name
Woods
An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood or forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 197,768 Americans carry the last name Woods. That puts it at #147 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 57.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,733 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Woods 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 Woods with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
198K
1 in 1,733
Census rank
#147
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
57.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
172K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 172,463 bearers of the surname Woods in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 57.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Woods, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Woods
The surname Woods is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'wudu', meaning a wood or forest. It is an occupational surname, originally given to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Woods dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273 as 'atte Wode'. Over time, the name evolved into various spellings such as Attwood, Woodhouse, and eventually Woods.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror, several place names containing the word 'wood' are mentioned, including Woodstock in Oxfordshire and Woodford in Northamptonshire. These place names may have contributed to the emergence of the surname Woods in those areas.
One notable bearer of the surname was Sir Henry Woods (1519-1584), a prominent lawyer and politician during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1568 to 1584.
Another historically significant figure was Robert Woods (1622-1692), an English mathematician and geographer. He is best known for his work 'A Treatise of Navigation' published in 1674, which contributed significantly to the development of navigation and cartography.
In the field of literature, Harriet Woods (1827-1867) was an American poet and author. Her collection of poems, 'Poems, Sacred and Secular', published in 1856, gained her recognition as a respected writer of her time.
The 18th century saw the rise of Thomas Woods (1765-1837), an English architect and landscape designer. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings and parks, including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and the gardens at Ashridge House in Hertfordshire.
Moving into the 19th century, Samuel Woods (1826-1905) was a prominent English manufacturer and philanthropist. He founded the Woods Millers Trust, which provided housing and education for the children of mill workers in the area.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Woods, a name rooted in the English landscape and occupational traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Woods
Among Census respondents with the surname Woods, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Woods 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 Woods surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.8% · 96,313
- Black or African American34.3% · 59,127
- Two or more races5.1% · 8,764
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 5,841
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,446
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 972
Timeline
Historical Census data for Woods
Woods 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
#144
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 177,425
+8,611 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 60.15
Rank movement Down 11 places
2020
#147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 172,463
-4,962 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 57.70
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133 | 168,814 | 62.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144 | 177,425 | 60.15 | +8,611 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 11 places |
| 2020 | #147 | 172,463 | 57.70 | -4,962 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 3 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 Woods 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 | #144 | #147 | -2.1% |
| Count | 177,425 | 172,463 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 60.15 | 57.70 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Woods bearers went from 177,425 to 172,463 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #144 to #147.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Woods
FAQ
Woods surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Woods?
Name Census estimates that about 197,768 living Americans carry the surname Woods. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,733 residents.
How common is Woods?
Woods ranks #147 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 57.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 58 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 172,463 people with the surname Woods. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (197,768), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 57.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 57.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 58 of them to have the surname Woods.
Has Woods become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Woods went from 177,425 recorded bearers to 172,463. That is a decrease of 4,962 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #144 to #147.
What does the Census say about the background of Woods?
Among Census respondents with the surname Woods, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.8%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Woods in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.8% (96,313 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Woods appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.8%), Black (34.3%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Woods (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 Woods mean?
An English topographic surname for someone who lived 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 Woods (57.70 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 Americans have the surname Woods?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.