History of Name
Three Motifs Associated with The Wood Surname
Warrior
Woodsman
Seaman
“Defend”
“Of the Woods”
“Safe on the Waves”
Adam le Wode of Worecestershire (1221) is might derive his name from the Saxon words “wode, wad, or wod,” which describes one who is wild or crazy (think of the famous line from Midsummer Night’s Dream). Craziness is the twin of bravery, if ascribed to a warrior who overpowers the enemy.
Walter de la Wode of Herefordshire is on the 1242 tax roles of King Henry III, an early example of Wood that means “of the woods.” This etymology can refer to either someone who lives near the woods or somone who works near or in the woods, such as a woodcutter or forester.
The earliest bearer of the Wood surname in Scotland was William Wod, a witness at Cawdor in 1295. A famous member of this clan is Admiral Wood of Largo. The clan’s crest depicts a “Ship under sail Proper.” The clan motto is TUTUS IN UNDIS, which is Latin for “Safe on the Waves.”
Origin Stories
The Wood Surname predates the 7th century, broadly originating in England, Scotland, and Wales, with etymologies derived from Olde English, Norman French, and Scottish. The General Armory of England includes 104 coats of arms for the Wood surname, which reflects its prevalence and frequency in medieval records. 1 While symbols on these coats of arms are diverse, reflecting the character and attributes of locality, the image of a tree is common. Matching the right branch of the Wood surname to its correct coat of arms can be tricky, and not every branch of the Wood surname has its own coat of arms.
The Wood surname has at least nineteen mottoes associated with it, including themes such as Defend, Perseverance, and Valor. The image of a caveman is used to covey prowess in battle. On these coats of arms, the symbols of a tree combined with a caveman denote a brave family living or working near a forest.
Stories about the origins of the surname Wood are diverse and creative, often retold online without attribution. A few stories, however, rise to the top. One story recounts how the Wood family of Dumfriesshire traces its line back to a Norman Knight who, after losing his knight’s fief in England, relocated to Scotland ca. 1150 AD. Another argument links the surname Wood to De Silva of Suffolk, who appears in Domesday in 1086 AD.2 Silva is the Latin word for forest.
The protagonist of yet another explanation is Emald de Bosco (1120-1173), a Norman Knight and companion of William the Conqueror, whose surname might have been latinized into English as Wood. The coat of arms of the De Bosco family, as one would expect, features a tree. 3 In 1153, Emald de Bosco received the mandate to become “justice of the forest on this side of Trent,” which meant de Bosco was perfectly named to be the manager of a forest. 4 Bosco in Norman French is Vosco, the antecedent of the modern French surnames Bois or Dubois.
Immigrants to Ireland from England translated Wood into Gaelic as Coll or Coill. 5 The stories of the Wood surname in Ireland are those of hopes and sorrows that precipitated relocation.
Topographical and Occupational Meanings
Walter de la Wode of Herefordshire appears in 1242 on the tax roles of King Henry III, which is an early example of Wood that means “of the wood” or one who resides by the woods. 6
As a metonymic name, Wood refers to a person “working near the woods,” such as Forester or Woodcutter. The topographical and Occupational meanings of the surname Wood come from the Old English word “wudu,” which means “a forest” or “woods,” that evolved into the Middle English word “wode.” 7 Variant spellings include Vod, Voud, Wod, Woode, Woodd, Woods, Yod.
Savage Warrrior, a Nickname
Adam le Wode, Worcestershire 1221 is believed to derive his name from the Saxon words “wode, wad, or wod,” which describes one who is wild or crazy. Although spelt the same, the Saxon and Olde English “wode” have unrelated meanings.
A famous line from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream uses the Saxon meaning of “wod,” that is, “And here am I, and wod (wild) within this wood (forest).” Craziness is the twin of bravery and is a compliment if ascribed to a ferocious warrior who overpowers his enemies. Consistent with this meaning, the Crest of the Clan Wood depicts a semi-naked savage wielding a club. The Clan motto is “Defend.”
The Clan Wood is accepted as a sept of Clan Watson, although sometimes viewed as a clan in its own right. Septs of Clan Wood include: Vode, Voud, Vould, Wode, Wodes, Woid, Woode, Woods, and Would. Some commenters have strong opinions about the right way to view the relationships between clans and septs, which controversy is beyond the scope of this summary.
William Mark Wood of Lambourne, Essex
A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland: Volumes One and Two identifies twelve branches of the Wood surname.8 The Wood family of Bishop’s Hall – one of the twelves branches – resided in Essex. William Mark Wood was born in 1817. He married Ameila Jane Bulkeley, who was the sister of Sir Richard B. Williams Bulkeley. William Mark Wood was the son of William Joseph Lockwood and Rachael Wood. In 1838 he assumed the surname Wood as directed in the Will of his grandfather, Sir Mark Wood, Baronet.
The history of William Mark Wood illustrates that maternal surnames were at times passed on to the next generation. It also reminds us that Wood is the root of many surnames, such as Lockwood (the surname of his father), Atwood, Greenwood, Harwood, Sherwood, Woodbridge, Woodford, and Underwood, which is a small sample of hundreds more.
Thomas Audley received Bishop’s Hall in 1536 in the wake of the Dissolution of Monasteries. The barony was extinguished with the death of Colonel Mark Lockwood in 1928. Bishop’s Hall was demolished in 1936.
Early Occurrence in Scotland
The earliest bearer of the Wood surname in Scotland was William Wod, a witness at Cawdor in 1295. This Clan Wood is a Lowland Scottish clan from North Esk, Largo Bay, and Angus in Scotland. The Wood family of Largo Bay was a chiefly family who retained “Wod” as their surname into the 17th century.
The crest of the Wood Clan related to Admiral Andrew Wood of Largo in Fife depicts a “Ship under sail Proper.” The clan motto is “TUTUS IN UNDIS, which is Latin for “Safe on the Waves.” The crest to the right is a modern rendition. Many members of the Wood branch of Ingrave were Sailors and Ship Owners.
Admiral Sir Andrew Wood of Largo, was born around the middle of the 15th century. Sir Andrew was the eldest son of William Wood, a merchant, who almost certainly was connected with the prominent Wood families holding lands in Banffshire, Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire, Perthshire and Angus. He was famous for inflicting many defeats on foreign pirates and privateers as well as squadrons of ships sent by the English government to harass the Scots. After winning several sea battles in the 1480s against the English, he was made a free Baron, with lands including Fife.
Wood Versus Woods
The surname “Woods” like Wood is derived from Old English “wudu.” The plural variants of the surname, such as Woods and Woodes, however, tend to reference many trees, that is, a locality that is wooded. In the case of “Woods,” the surname of Woods likely refers to a person who both resided in the woods and earned his or her living from the woods, such as a forester.
In 1841 the Woods surname was concentrated in Norfolk/Suffolk, Lancashire and London. Essex accounted for less than 2.5% of this surname’s population. The scant individuals with the surname of Woods in Essex makes it hard to distinguish between spelling errors and family branches.
Wood with “S” can indicate a filial relationship, which is a wrinkle that is easy to misinterpret. To generalize, “son” was added to surnames in the northern part of England to indicate “the son of Wood,” that is, Woodson. In southern parts of England, however, the lone “S” was sometimes used to designate a filial relationship, so that the surnames of Woods and Woodson in this context are equivalent in meaning. 9
John Atewode of Essex
After 1250, the surname Wood is found on the Hundreds Rolls and in parish registers. A sampling of early but incomplete occurrences include:
- 1273: Andrew ale Wade of Oxfordshire
- 1273: Walter de la Wode of Cambridgeshire
- 1273: Elias in le Wode of Cambridgeshire
- 1274: Roger del Wode of Yorkshire
- 1274: John Atewode of Essex
- 1279: William in le Wode of Cambridgeshire
- 1296: Henry Bythewode of Sussex
- 1549: Judy Wode was christened at St. Margaret’s church, West Minster in Sheppey
- 1550: Margaret, the daughter of John Wood, was christened at St. Nicholas Acons, London
- 1620: Thomas Wood emigrated from England to Virginia aboard the George
Early Occurrences in Ireland
In Ireland today, families named “
Woods” outnumber those named “Wood” by about ten to one. As the two surnames are easily confused, records show that they have been, on occasion, used interchangeably. Typically, those in Ireland with the surname Wood are settlers from England, such as the Wood families residing in the counties of Meath, Kildare and Dublin. These Wood families arrived in Ireland from Yorkshire during the 17th century.
Other Irishmen with the surname Woods are descendants of certain Irish families who took the surname Woods in place of their Irish name. The Irish word for Wood is “coill.” Irish surnames Anglicized as Woods either had coill as a root in their Irish surname or the Irish surname sounded like coill. For example, the 19th century Registrar of Births in Longford Union uses the surnames Woods and Coyle interchangeably. Elwood is another variant of an Anglicized Irish surname. This variant is found in Lurgant Union, County Armagh, and Smallwoods of Newtown Limavady Union.
William Wood (1671-1744) was an English iron-founder in London. He was granted licenses to strike coins for the American colonies and for Ireland. His royal license for Ireland was granted in 1722 to strike half-pennies and farthings. William was accused of secretly sharing the profits with one of the mistresses of King George I and of producing inferior coinage. Sir Isaac Newton examined Wood’s Irish coins, concluding they were “the same goodness and value with that which was coined for England.” The scandal was denounced by Jonathan Swift using a pseudonym, and the patent was withdrawn. Wood was compensated with a pension of £3000 for eight years. 10