''Wood'' is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

. It is common throughout the world, especially countries with historical links to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Etymology

For the most part, the surname Wood originated as a topographic name used to describe a person who lived in, or worked in a wood or

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

. This name is derived from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''wode'', from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''wudu'' meaning "wood" (from the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

word ''widu''). which cited: for the surname "Wood". An early occurrence of this surname (of a personal residing near a wood) is ''de la Wode'', recorded in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in 1242. The locational name also appeared in early records Latinised as ''de Bosco'' (from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

''bois'', meaning "wood"). which cited: for the surname "Boyce". Another derivation for the surname is from a nickname of an eccentric or violent person, derived from the Old English ''wōd'', ''wad'', and Middle English ''wod'', ''wode'', all meaning "frenzied" or "wild". This derivation is considered to be much less common than the locational origin. An early occurrence of the surname derived in this fashion (from a nickname) is ''le Wode'', recorded in Worcestershire, England, in 1221.

Variations

Variations of the name include the surnames ''Woodd'', ''Woode'', ''Woods (surname), Woods'', ''Wod'', and ''Wode''. The equivalent name in German is ''Wald'', and in many cases, emigrants from the German-speaking countries Anglicized this name to Wood when they settled in countries like the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, et cetera. The name "Wald" still exists, too. The element "wood" occurs in a number of surnames often indicating a place of origin or an occupation: Woodard, Woodburn, Woodby,

Woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of sandpipers in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

, Woodforde, Woodham, Woodhouse, Woodly, Woodman, Woodruff, Woodson, Woodstock, Woodvine, Woodward, and Woodworth. Other variations include; Blackwood, Eastwood, Greenwood, Inglewood, Hazelwood, Kirkwood, Leatherwood, Northwood,

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places Australia *Underwood, Queensland, a suburb of Logan City, Australia *Underwood, Tasmania, a locality United Kingdom *Underwood, Devon, a List of United Kingdom ...

, Westwood.

Popularity

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, Wood is the 26th most-common surname, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

it is the 53rd most-common surname and in the

the 78th.(cites its source as the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Population Analysis & Evaluation Staff)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood (Surname) English-language surnames Surnames of English origin English toponymic surnames es:Wood#Personajes fr:Wood