Woodson
Masculine · “son of Wood”
Woodson is son of Wood, and the Old English wudu named both a forest and the material — one word for the tree and the timber.
How old is the name Woodson?
Woodson was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Woodson alive today was born around 1950, making them about 75 years old. About 700 people named Woodson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Woodson most popular?
Woodson peaked in 1886, reaching #647 nationally. Today it ranks #2421, 1,774 places below that high. See the whole 1886 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From wudu to Woodson
The story of Woodson
Wudu named both a forest and its timber in Old English, a single word for the standing tree and the cut plank. Carter G. Woodson, the second African American to earn a Harvard doctorate, founded the observance that became Black History Month. Woodson entered American given-name use recently and is in current use.
Meaning
son of Wood
From the Middle English wode, 'forest', from the Old English wudu, which meant both a wood and the substance, plus the patronymic -son. Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Month. The construction is documented.
How the name formed
- wudu
- Wood
- Woodson
Related forms: Woodsen · Waldmann
Pronouncing Woodson
WOOD-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Woodson
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 202556 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #647reached in 1886
- Change vs 2023
- +64.7%56 in 2025, from 34
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Woodson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Woodsen in English — spelling variant
- Waldmann in German — related form
Woodsons among us
people named Woodson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 30,501 born in 2025 was named Woodson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Woodson sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Woodson is headed
Woodson looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 27% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Woodson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Woodson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Carter G. Woodson is a first-rate bearer.
- Woody is available as a warm short form with a real record.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It reads unmistakably as a surname.
- It is very new as a given name.
- The Wood front is an ordinary English noun.
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What they receive
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Woodson
Masculine · #2421 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Woodsons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Woodson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Woodson in 2025?
- Woodson ranks #2421 among US boy names in 2025, with 56 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Woodson?
- About 1 in every 30,501 US boys born in 2025 was named Woodson — 56 in all.
- Will my child share the name Woodson with classmates?
- Woodson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Woodson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Idrees#2421 · Darnell#2421 · Domenico#2421 · Jin#2421 · Pranav#2421 · Rahmir#2421 · Fitzgerald#2421 · Amelio#2421
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Woodson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Woodson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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