Woodson Surname

23,126th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 23,442 people bear this surname

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

Woodson Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Wodard'; v. Woodard. The only other etymology is 'Widowson,' which see. But this seems somewhat forced. Upon careful consideration I see no reasonable doubt in accepting Woodard as the parent.

Read More About This Surname

Woodson Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States22,6671:15,9912,036
Ghana3461:78,0947,799
Liberia2071:21,2972,125
Canada681:541,84745,466
Dominican Republic391:267,5119,432
England201:2,785,90397,972
Australia161:1,687,23181,699
Sweden61:1,641,126116,183
Philippines51:20,247,645262,352
Mexico51:24,825,24158,251
United States Virgin Islands51:22,0752,767
France41:16,605,680368,153
Germany41:20,126,365436,245
Turkey41:19,455,356155,681
India41:191,766,3461,073,940
South Korea41:12,810,0642,073
China31:455,773,85521,925
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
Nigeria21:88,571,379625,098
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Colombia21:23,887,03632,612
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Nicaragua11:6,021,0908,768
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Ivory Coast11:23,071,23276,679
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Guam11:160,1214,893
Greenland11:56,3791,133
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England951:256,58318,459
Scotland31:1,247,73924,719
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5,1421:9,7661,253

Woodson (1,872) may also be a first name.

Woodson Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Wodard'; v. Woodard. The only other etymology is 'Widowson,' which see. But this seems somewhat forced. Upon careful consideration I see no reasonable doubt in accepting Woodard as the parent. It must be remembered that that baptismal name was popular in the hereditary surname period.

1565. Alex. Woodson, Christ Church: Register of the University of Oxford.

1604-5. John Woodsonne, Bristol: ibid.

In this register the name is also spelt Wooddeson, Woddeson, and Wodison. It is manifest, therefore, that Wooderson is a member of the family; compare Patterson for Pattison.

1634. Buried — Richard Woodison, servant to Mr. Darrell: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1674. George Wooddeson and Mary Balston: Marriage Alleg. (Canterbury).

1803. Married — John Wooderson and Ann Oliver: St. George, Hanover Square.

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

WODSONE: Peter Wodsone in Berwickshire, 1630 (Lauder). Harrison has Woodson, a contraction, he says, of Wooderson, from wooder, woodman, woodcutter. Bardsley says 'son of Wodard or Odard,' and Weekley says may be 'son of the woodward.'

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

A contraction of Wooderson, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who came from Woodsome (houses in a wood), in Yorkshire; the son of Wuda (wood).

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

1. The son of Wudda, an Anglo-Saxon personal name, occurring as early as the VII. century. 2. See Widowson.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Woodson Last Name Facts

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

The last name Woodson (Arabic: ودسون) is found most frequently in The United States. It can also be rendered as:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Woodson? popularity and diffusion

The last name Woodson is the 23,126th most common last name on a global scale, held by around 1 in 310,876 people. Woodson is primarily found in The Americas, where 97 percent of Woodson are found; 97 percent are found in North America and 97 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 175,887th most frequently held first name in the world, borne by 1,872 people.

It is most widespread in The United States, where it is carried by 22,667 people, or 1 in 15,991. In The United States it is most numerous in: Virginia, where 12 percent live, Texas, where 11 percent live and Missouri, where 7 percent live. Not including The United States this surname occurs in 44 countries. It is also found in Ghana, where 1 percent live and Liberia, where 1 percent live.

Woodson Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Woodson has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Woodson surname expanded 441 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it declined 79 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Woodson Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Woodson last name are 5.52% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 52.29% registered with the party.

The amount Woodson earn in different countries varies marginally. In United States they earn 9.03% less than the national average, earning $39,253 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.15% less than the national average, earning $44,144 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Woodsong9316/
Woodsson932/
Woodsoon932/
Woodsonc931/
Wooddson931/
Woodsone930/
Wodson9263/
Woodsjohn881/
Woodsound880/
Wootson86157/
Woodsen8645/
Woodsom8623/
Woodsun865/
Voodson862/
Woddson862/
Woozson861/
Woudson860/
Woodsan860/
Woottson801/
Woodssan800/
Wwootson800/
Bodson774,375/
Wadson771,249/
Wotson7735/
Wudson772/
Vodson772/
Woodshank7585/
Woodsum71305/
Boydson7122/
Bootson719/
Boodsan712/
Boudson712/
Wootsen711/
Whotson711/
Wottson710/
Woodsam710/
Boidson710/
Woodsem710/
Wozon6782/
Wocon672/
Boodseen671/
Boudsoin670/

Woodson Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Woodson in the Arabic language
ودسونwdswn-
دسونdswn-

Search for Another Surname

Woodson Reference & Research

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

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

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 Woodson
  • 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