Woodroffe Surname

139,349th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 3,208 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Grenada

Woodroffe Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from an official title. 'the woodreeve' or wood-bailiff, but I cannot find the term in official use; from Anglo-Saxon rof, active (v. reeve, Skeat); compare sheriff, port-reeve, borough-reeve, v. Woodward.

John Woderove, Oxfordshire, 1273.

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Woodroffe Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,0001:55,7186,754
Australia7911:34,1294,498
United States4041:897,17667,678
South Africa3551:152,61317,281
Canada1281:287,85626,805
Barbados951:3,026458
New Zealand941:48,1747,829
Guyana801:9,5281,465
Trinidad and Tobago521:26,2302,834
Grenada471:2,309383
Venezuela451:671,20211,567
Wales361:85,9597,098
Scotland161:334,61415,044
Ireland141:336,35312,021
Thailand51:14,127,669603,945
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines41:28,1651,050
Sweden41:2,461,689157,534
Chile41:4,404,11844,633
Finland31:1,832,23457,803
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
Norway31:1,714,09579,528
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Germany21:40,252,730481,636
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Jersey11:99,2026,620
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
British Virgin Islands11:31,5941,029
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
France11:66,422,722504,397
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland281:158,2108,327
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England6211:39,2525,012
Wales31:522,80514,314
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States361:1,394,96375,931

Woodroffe Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from an official title. 'the woodreeve' or wood-bailiff, but I cannot find the term in official use; from Anglo-Saxon rof, active (v. reeve, Skeat); compare sheriff, port-reeve, borough-reeve, v. Woodward.

John Woderove, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Robert Woderove, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Henry Woderoue, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Thomas Woderoue, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

1524. William Woddrof, or Woderof: Register of the University of Oxford.

George Wood ruffe, temp. Elis. Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery, temp. Elizabeth I.

1733. Married — Daniel Woodrooffe to Jemima Archer: St. Mary Aldermary (London).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English)WooD-REEVE; Wood- IBailiff; Forester [Old English wudu + ge)réfa, ge)ræfa] Woodreve.—the woodman, the forester of the Midland Counties.—Surrey Provincialisms (English Dialectal Soc.).

Spent upon our wood reefe for coming to give us notice of some abuses done to our wood.—MS. Accts. (1643), St. John’s Hosp., Cant.; Dict. Kent. Dialectal, p. 191.

It is improbable that the plant-name ‘woodruff,’ Old English wudurofe, has had any influence on the weak forms of this surname in -roff(e, -ruff(e, etc.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English)WooD-REEVE; Wood- IBailiff; Forester [Old English wudu + ge)réfa, ge)ræfa] Woodreve.—the woodman, the forester of the Midland Counties.—Surrey Provincialisms (English Dialectal Soc.).

Spent upon our wood reefe for coming to give us notice of some abuses done to our wood.—MS. Accts. (1643), St. John’s Hosp., Cant.; Dict. Kent. Dialectal, p. 191.

It is improbable that the plant-name ‘woodruff,’ Old English wudurofe, has had any influence on the weak forms of this surname in -roff(e, -ruff(e, etc.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) A wood or forest keeper for the lord of the manor.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Woodroof, from Wood—reeve, the governor or keeper of a wood, a forester.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

WOODEREVE: The bailiff or reeve entrusted with the care of timber and underwood.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Woodroffe Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Woodroffe Come From? nationality or country of origin

Woodroffe is borne by more people in England than any other country/territory. It may also be rendered as a variant:. For other potential spellings of Woodroffe click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Woodroffe? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 139,349th most frequently occurring surname worldwide. It is borne by around 1 in 2,271,679 people. The surname is predominantly found in Europe, where 34 percent of Woodroffe are found; 34 percent are found in Northern Europe and 33 percent are found in British Isles.

This last name is most frequent in England, where it is held by 1,000 people, or 1 in 55,718. In England it is most prevalent in: Greater London, where 17 percent reside, West Midlands, where 8 percent reside and Derbyshire, where 5 percent reside. Barring England Woodroffe exists in 42 countries. It is also found in Australia, where 25 percent reside and The United States, where 13 percent reside.

Woodroffe Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Woodroffe has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Woodroffe surname rose 161 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 1,122 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it rose 1,200 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 50 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Woodroffe Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the last name is principally Anglican (86%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Woodroffe surname are 5.34% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 58.57% registered with the political party.

The amount Woodroffe earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 55.94% more than the national average, earning R 370,584 per year; in United States they earn 7.85% more than the national average, earning $46,537 USD per year and in Canada they earn 2.4% less than the national average, earning $48,489 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Woodrooffe9544/
Wooddroffe955/
Woodroffee953/
Woodroff94247/
Woodrofe949/
Woodroofe89325/
Woodrouff895/
Woodroffs890/
Woodrooff890/
Woodraffe890/
Woodrof886/
Wodroff881/
Woodroof82865/
Woodraff823/
Woodroft822/
Woodrouf820/
Voodrouff780/
Woodrow759,861/
Bodroff7517/
Woodrov751/
Wudroff750/
Woodroow711/
Woodraft711/
Woodrrow711/
Wooddrow711/
Wodrow6715/
Bodrof672/

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Woodroffe Reference & Research

Woodruff DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Woodruff FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Woodroffe
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis