The Woo surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,003 people carried this name — #2,775 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,700 people counted. That is up 12% from 11,628 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Woo surname

From an irregular romanization of various Mandarin Chinese surnames including 吳／吴 (Wú), 伍 (Wǔ), 武 (Wǔ), and 巫 (Wū), or from Cantonese 胡 (wu4).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Woo» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 41 people named Woo.

20 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Nièvre.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 20
Nièvre 13
Paris 4
Doubs 3
French Polynesia 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 41 people named Woo live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 41

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

31 people named Woo live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 14
Bern 8
Geneva 5
Vaud 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

40 people named Woo is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 40

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Woo in American newspapers,
1879–1926.

Newspaper page from The New Orleans Daily Democrat carrying the name Woo
The New Orleans Daily Democrat 1879-03-27
Newspaper page from Imperial Valley Press carrying the name Woo
Imperial Valley Press 1926-01-12
Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Woo
South Bend News-times 1926-01-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,802 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Woo in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

23,668 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Woo. The most, 7,299, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,870
Victoria 6,814
Queensland 3,770
South Australia 3,339
Tasmania 1,408
Western Australia 1,332
ACT (Canberra) 59
Northern Territory 12

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Woo.

Who carried it

People named Woo,
with a public archive behind them.

  • U Hakyu d. 1179
  • U T'ak 1262–1342 · philosopher
  • Woo Hyeon-bo 1333–1400 · politician
  • Woo Hyeon-bo 1333–1400 · politician
  • U Inyeol 1337–1403 · politician
  • U Hui-yeol 1354– · civilian official

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Woo,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States640 records

640 records of the Woo name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 354
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 191
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 39
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 38
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 11
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Hing S. Woo

    Born 1907. Enlisted 1943 at Los Angeles, California; sales clerk from Imperial County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1962, buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Gerr Woo

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the Westernland from Antwerp, aged 18; farmer. From Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Fred Lai Jeung Woo

    U.S. Air Force veteran. Born 1933, died 1997; buried at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 640 records for Woo in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada163 records

163 records of the Woo name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 67
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 67
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 25
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Joe Noy Woo

    Buried in 1999 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 70.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Leun Kwong Woo

    Died 1976, aged 84; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Man Woo

    Died 1970 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 77.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 163 records for Woo in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France13 records

13 records of the Woo name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Henri Bruno Woo

    Born 1959 in Besançon; died 1987 in Besançon (Doubs).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Isabelle Jeanine Woo

    Born 1974 in Nevers (Nièvre); died 1999 in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Rene Lucien Woo

    Born 1929 in Fourchambault (Nièvre); died 2000 in Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Woo in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands12 records

12 records of the Woo name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Bernardus Woo

    Born 1899 in Lonneker. Died 1901 in Enschede.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Enschede (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Wang Hsum Woo

    Married in 1941 in Amsterdam; cook, born 1912 in Chekiang (China).

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Shi Yu Woo

    Died 1962 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 38.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Woo in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Australia11 records

11 records of the Woo name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Infts Woo

    Sailed from Victoria in 1902 aboard the Paroo, bound for Adelaide, as an infant.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Kour Woo

    Died 1986; buried at Gungahlin Cemetery, Canberra, ACT.

    ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Charles Woo

    Held a miner's right in Queensland in 1877.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Woo in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Woo.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Woo is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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