Given name & surname
Wood
“a woman of the forest”·“a man of the forest”
Wood is a variant of Woody. Interpretations include “a woman of the forest” (American) and “a man of the forest” (American). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Wood is a variant of Woody. Interpretations include “a woman of the forest” (American) and “a man of the forest” (American). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wood through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 326
- 320 boys · 6 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #10,627 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,627 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 465 as a first name in 2020; 238,948 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Wood’s family of names
Wood has a related form in Woody. In English usage, Wood as a surname has a related form in Woods. In English usage, Wood as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the French form DUBOIS.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Wood
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wood, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Murdoch
“from the sea”
>99% boys
Leith
“from the broad river”
>99% boys
Ridgely
“one who lives at the meadow'sridge”
65% boys · 35% girls
Locke
“man of the forest” · “from the fortress”
>99% boys
Usher
“from the mouth of the river” · “from. the mouth of the river”
>99% boys
Rowen
“of the red-berry tree”
77% boys · 23% girls
Lealand
“from the meadow land”
>99% boys
Rio
“woman of the river” · “from the river”
79% boys · 21% girls