Fun Facts About the Name Woods
- 699 babies named Woods: U.S. records list 699 babies given the name Woods from 1880 through 2025. Even 11 girls received the name Woods - about 1 girl for every 63 boys.
What Does the Name Woods Mean?
Woods is an English surname used as a given name. It comes from Middle English wode and Old English wudu, meaning "wood" or "forest." It began as a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a wood, or as a habitational name for someone from a place named with this word. The final -s is generally explained as a plural or possessive ending, or as an added -s with no separate meaning - a common development in English surnames. For any single family the exact reason for the -s is often uncertain. As a first name, Woods is a transferred use of the surname rather than a separate etymological development.
Woods Name History & Origins
The root of the name is Old English wudu, "wood" or "forest," a common element in English place names and bynames before the Norman Conquest. In the Middle English period the word became wode, and as hereditary surnames took shape in England between the 12th and 15th centuries, people often took surnames from the landscape around them. Wood and Woods belong to that group. A person recorded as atte Wode, "at the wood," could be the ancestor of a family called Wood or Woods; the -s form may mark a plural or possessive, or it may be a later variation of Wood.
The surname Woods is found chiefly in England and also in Scotland, Ireland, and the English-speaking world. In some Irish families it may have been adopted as an English form of a Gaelic name meaning "wood," but that development differs by family and is not certain for the surname as a whole. The given name Woods is a transferred surname, part of the English and American custom of using family surnames as first or middle names.
How Popular is the Name Woods?
Woods has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,476 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #14,840 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #17,462 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,476 | 121 | 0.0071% |
| 2024 | #1,759 | 94 | 0.0055% |
| 2023 | #1,967 | 79 | 0.0046% |
| 2022 | #1,838 | 88 | 0.0050% |
| 2021 | #2,221 | 64 | 0.0037% |
| 2020 | #2,920 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 2019 | #3,049 | 40 | 0.0022% |
| 2018 | #3,518 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2017 | #4,738 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2016 | #5,541 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #5,975 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #4,859 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #9,619 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #14,134 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #10,730 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #10,708 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #13,943 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2004 | #9,902 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1919 | #4,161 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1917 | #3,973 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1912 | #2,901 | 5 | 0.0012% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Woods Shapes Your Personality and Life?
To express itself, you must follow the divine law of love. You have great persistence and hate to give up. You are a good mixer, charming, magnetic and intuitive. The spirituality is the key to success. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Woods's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Woods's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.