The Woodhouse surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,985 people carried this name — #8,316 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,917 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Woodhouse surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the wood-house’.

An early record he cites: Robert de Wodehous, Nottinghamshire, 1291–92 (20 Edward I) — Placita de Quo Warranto.

His entry covers Wodehouse and Woodhouse.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 821 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 6 births for the Woodhouse name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 4
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

26 people named Woodhouse is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 26

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).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Woodhouse was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Herefordshire: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Herefordshire 20
Derbyshire 14
Shropshire 12

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

35 Woodhouse families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 200 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 18
Connecticut 6
New Hampshire 4
Maryland 2
North Carolina 2
Maine 1
New York 1
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 269 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Woodhouse in American newspapers,
1916–1917.

Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Woodhouse
The Sun 1917-08-30
Newspaper page from Ottumwa Tri-weekly Courier carrying the name Woodhouse
Ottumwa Tri-weekly Courier 1916-01-11
Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Woodhouse
The Sun 1917-10-18

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Woodhouse in Australian newspapers,
1810s–1990s.

31,697 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Woodhouse. The most, 5,978, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 13,837
Victoria 7,396
Queensland 4,481
South Australia 2,076
Western Australia 1,999
Tasmania 1,576
ACT (Canberra) 257
Northern Territory 36

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

Who carried it

People named Woodhouse,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Rose Evelyn Woodhouse d. 1941
  • Cecilia Maud Woodhouse d. 1947
  • Anne Sophia Colt d. 1876
  • George Woodhouse d. 1846
  • Robert Woodhouse d. 1966
  • Henry Melvill Woodhouse d. 1913

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

In the public record

People named Woodhouse,
in the records of 7 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 States688 records

688 records of the Woodhouse name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 248
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 121
  • Other U.S. records 319
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Aaron Woodhouse

    Born 1906 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee; stock clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Memphis National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert F. Woodhouse

    Born 1946; from Ellenville, New York. U.S. Army, aide-de-camp; died of wounds 1970 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Woodhouse

    Arrived at New York in 1860 aboard the William Tapscott from Liverpool, aged 28; servant. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 688 records for Woodhouse in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,053 records

1,053 records of the Woodhouse name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 514
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 172
  • Other Australian records 367
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Francis Woodhouse

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Lyndoch, sailing from Sheerness in 1831. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1841.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Woodhouse

    Died 1907 in Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1907.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Delia Kate Woodhouse

    Born 1876 in Ulverstone, Tasmania. Married 1892 in Ulverstone, Tasmania, aged 17.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,053 records for Woodhouse in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada79 records

79 records of the Woodhouse name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 17
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 12
  • Other Canadian records 50
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Woodhouse

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Montague, bound for Port Roseway, aged 48.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Woodhouse

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Circassian, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Leslie Byron Woodhouse

    Buried in 1951 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 60.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 79 records for Woodhouse in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom48 records

48 records of the Woodhouse name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 32
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 13
  • Other British records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Henry Woodhouse

    Died 1921, aged 64; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edward Robert Woodhouse

    Will proved in 1938; of Llandudno, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record George W. Woodhouse

    Died 1917. Named in the roll of honour (1926).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 48 records for Woodhouse in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand45 records

45 records of the Woodhouse name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 33
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 12
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ida Annie Woodhouse

    Died 1988, aged 76; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Florence Woodhouse

    Died 1926, aged 33; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ernest Woodhouse

    Died 1932, aged 43; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 45 records for Woodhouse in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands5 records

5 records of the Woodhouse name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Woodhouse

    Married in 1851 in 's-Gravenhage; manufacturer.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Eric Lewis Woodhouse

    Died 1950 in Losser; born in Newmarket Suffalk, England.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Grace Rosalie Woodhouse

    Married in 1885 in Enschede.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Enschede (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Woodhouse in the Netherlands.

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

France4 records

4 records of the Woodhouse 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 Dorothy Woodhouse

    Born 1938 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Orléans (Loiret).

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

    Born 1906 in Colombes (Paris); died 1982 in Labruyère (Oise).

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

    Born 1925 in Canada; died 1999 in Canada.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Woodhouse 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Woodhouse.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Woodhouse is.
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