Woodroof Surname

405,063rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 865 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
United States Virgin Islands

Woodroof 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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Woodroof Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States6471:560,21546,155
England1611:346,07525,095
Australia181:1,499,76175,721
Canada151:2,456,373146,130
Malaysia61:4,915,704170,578
South Africa61:9,029,617189,736
Venezuela31:10,068,02660,591
Italy31:20,385,563143,117
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Paraguay11:7,236,74616,511
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England711:343,31522,014
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2601:193,14916,929

Woodroof 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

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

Woodroof Last Name Facts

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

The surname Woodroof is more frequently found in The United States than any other country/territory. It can also occur as a variant:. Click here for other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Woodroof? popularity and diffusion

The last name Woodroof is the 405,063rd most common family name in the world, borne by around 1 in 8,424,909 people. The surname Woodroof occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 77 percent of Woodroof are found; 76 percent are found in North America and 76 percent are found in Anglo-North America.

The surname is most widely held in The United States, where it is held by 647 people, or 1 in 560,215. In The United States Woodroof is mostly concentrated in: Tennessee, where 21 percent are found, Texas, where 9 percent are found and Missouri, where 9 percent are found. Other than The United States Woodroof is found in 13 countries. It is also common in England, where 19 percent are found and Australia, where 2 percent are found.

Woodroof Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Woodroof has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Woodroof surname grew 249 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it grew 227 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Woodroof Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Woodroof last name is chiefly Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Woodroof last name are 11.77% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 58.54% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Woodroof earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 69.41% less than the national average, earning R 72,696 per year; in United States they earn 2.72% more than the national average, earning $44,321 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.72% less than the national average, earning $47,836 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Woodroofe94325/
Woodrooff940/
Woodrof936/
Woodrooffe8944/
Woodroff88247/
Woodrofe889/
Woodroft882/
Woodroow881/
Woodrouf880/
Woodroffe823,208/
Woodrouff825/
Woodroffs820/
Woodrow809,861/
Woodruf8044/
Woodrov801/
Wodroff801/
Wooddroffe785/
Woodruff7539,791/
Woodrufs756/
Woodruft756/
Woodraff753/
Woodruuf751/
Woodraft751/
Woodrusf751/
Woodrrow751/
Wooddrow751/
Wooddruf750/
Woodruffe71543/
Wooddruff7127/
Wodrow7115/
Wodruf712/
Bodrof712/
Woodrruff711/
Woodraffe710/
Voodrouff710/
Bodroff6717/
Wodruff6711/
Woodraw675/
Wudroff670/

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Woodroof 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 Woodroof
  • 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