The Woody surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 18,434 people carried this name — #1,960 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,000 people counted. That is up 2% from 18,069 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

24 families named Woody, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 114 people lived in those households, 4.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. 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 11
South Carolina 7
North Carolina 6

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

Woody in American newspapers,
1891–1913.

Newspaper page from The Day Book carrying the name Woody
The Day Book 1913-02-04
Newspaper page from The Sioux County Journal carrying the name Woody
The Sioux County Journal 1891-02-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 80,575 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Woody in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

1,378 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Woody. The most, 261, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 3.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 830
New South Wales 218
Victoria 173
South Australia 77
Tasmania 23
Western Australia 22
Northern Territory 18
ACT (Canberra) 6

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

Who carried it

People named Woody,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Frank H. Woody
    Frank H. Woody 1833–1916 · politician
  • Mary Chawner Woody
    Mary Chawner Woody 1846–1928 · temperance worker
  • Arthur Woody 1884–1946 · conservationist
  • Warren Woody 1897–1982 · head coach

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Woody,
in the records of 3 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 States929 records

929 records of the Woody name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 616
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 214
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 42
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 15
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Willard Everett Woody

    Born 1950; from Garland, Kansas. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1971 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Scott National Cemetery, Kansas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Arthur V. Woody

    Born 1911 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1943 at Dallas, Texas; bellman from Cooke County, Texas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Dallas - Fort Worth National Cemetery, Texas.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the North American from Liverpool, aged 17; servant. From Germany.

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

Showing 3 of 929 records for Woody in the United States.

Counts: 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 · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia16 records

16 records of the Woody name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 10
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary A. Woody

    Arrived in Victoria in 1863 as an assisted immigrant aboard the Ivanhoe, aged 28.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record James Woody

    Left Hobart in 1852 aboard the Eliza, bound for Williamstown.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Leonard Woody

    Born 1912 in Liverpool Street, Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Woody in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Woody name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Oscar Scott Woody

    Lost in the sinking of the Titanic, 1912, aged 38; a crew member. Body recovered.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Emily Woody

    Died 1917; 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 Sarah Woody

    Died 1866 in Wilmot, Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Woody 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. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Woody.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Woody 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.

See the Woody volume
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