Wood Name Study
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Surnames/tags: Wood Woods Wode
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This is a One Name Study to collect together in one place everything about the surname Wood and its variants. Please add categories to your profiles, add your questions to the bulletin board, add details of your name research, etc.
In England,Wales and the Isle of Man, Wood is the 26th most-common surname, in Scotland it is the 53rd most-common surname and in the United States the 78th "
Wood can be traced as far back as the 11th century. Walter de la Wode is recorded in Hertfordshire in 1242. John Atewode is in the Rotuli Hundredorum in Essex in 1274, and William Bythewode is listed in the Subsidy Rolls in Sessex in 1296.
Some bearers of the surname Wood may descend from Irish immigrants who moved to England and Wales. Settlers with the surnames Coll, Coill or O'Coill (Ó Coill) or the anglicised form Quill were known to have changed their surnames to the English translation - Wood.
All variant spellings are welcome (Wood, Woods, Atwood, Attwood, etc.) and the study is open to all who are interested in working together to find their common heritage through sharing of information.
International origins from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.com, New York Passengers List
| England/Wales | 3,592 | 74% |
| Ireland | 773 | 16% |
| Scotland | 404 | 8% |
| Germany | 37 | 1% |
| Canada | 32 | 1% |
| Total | 4,838 |
Origin of the Wood Surname
"This famous and popular English and Scottish surname is of pre 7th century Olde English origins. Recorded in several forms including Wood, Woode, Woodd, Wod, Wode and the locational Woods and Woodes, it derives from the word "wudu" meaning a forest or wood. It was originally given either as a topographical name for one who was resident by a wood, or who in the case of the plural Woods related to a person who was both resident in the wood and who obtained his livelihood from the wood, probably as a forester. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 13th Century (see below) and appears in a great variety of records during that century. These early examples include: Roger del Wode of Yorkshire in 1274; John Atewode of Essex, in the same year; William in le Wode of Cambridgeshire in 1279, and Henry Bythewode of Sussex, in 1296. The earliest recorded namebearer in Scotland was William Wod, a witness at Cawdor in 1295. Judy Wode was christened on October 28th 1549, at St. Margaret's church, Westminster, and Margarett, the daughter of John Wood, was christened on October 18th 1550 at St. Nicholas Acons, in the city of London. One of the earliest emigrants to the new colonies of America was John Wood, aged 26 yrs., who embarked from London on January 2nd 1634, settling in Virginia. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Walter de la Wode. This was dated 1242, in the "Fines Court" rolls of the county of Herefordshire, during the reign of King Henry 111of England, 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax" [1]
See Also
Sources
- ↑ The Internet Surname Database, Home > W > Wood; posted 8 May 2012 to Ancestry.com by Merrilyn Ridgeway
- The Internet Surname Database, (© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2017)
- Need help w/ Abner Wood 1766-1841 Oct 24, 2018.
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My Name is Grant Sipsey, and I've traced my way to a "Captain John Wood" who seems to be a direct ancestor of mine, through my maternal grandmother who shares the same surname/maiden name.
I'd love information on joining your project and collaborating with others who share interest in exploring the Wood surname and where it leads.
You can reach me by way of email [email address removed] or any other way that works for you.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Grant Sipsey
It seems we're talking about the same John Wood from Rowley, MA
Currently the line stops at Edward's father Lewis Wood, born about 1572. The surviving portions of the parish register do not go back that far, so we can only guess at Lewis' parentage. But I have the idea that Lewis was the fils cadet of wealthy family. On the hearth tax returns for Nuneaton (relating to the Restoration period nearly a century after Lewis' birth), we find that the largest house in Nuneaton was owned by a Lewis Wood. (This from memory; I might not be exactly right, but there was definitely a Lewis Wood in town then, and a Wood was the owner of Nuneaton's largest house, a place with multiple chimneys.)