Contents [hide]

Woodman History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Woodman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland
Scotland

Early Origins of the Woodman family

The surname Woodman was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Woodmansey. Later another branch of the family was found at Fenrother in Northumberland. "This place was at an early period held under the barons of Bothal, by the family of Fenrother. In the reign of Henry III., and subsequently, the Herons had possessions here; and among other owners have been the priors of Tynemouth, and the family of Woodman: it is now the property of Mr. Woodman, and the Duke of Portland." 1

An interesting entry was found: "In a proclamation by Edith of Wessex, Queen of Edward the Confessor, judgment is asked for on a certain undesirable tenant named Wudemann, to whom the queen had lent a horse and who had not paid any rent for two years." 2

Further to the north in Scotland, it was "an old surname in the parish of Strichen. William Wode was juror on an inquest made in St. Katherine's Chapel, Bave-ley, in 1280. Nicholas Wodman became burgess of Aberdeen in 1400, Thomas Wodeman attained the same distinction in 1486, and is mentioned again in 1493. Andrew Wodman was a forestaller in Aberdeen in 1402. The surname is also common in Northumberland." 3

There are two distinct possible origins for this name. The first, having derived from the Old English personal name Wudernann (in 1070 Wudeman) and secondly, for the occupation a woodcutter. 2

"A Wodeman occurs in Domesday, and at an earlier period individuals so designated gave names to Woodmancote, co. Sussex; Woodmanstone, co. Surrey; Woodmansey, co. York." 4

Early History of the Woodman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woodman research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1477, 1486, 1493, 1524, 1557, 1633 and 1718 are included under the topic Early Woodman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodman Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Woodman, Wudman, Wouldman, Wodeman, Woodmann, Woodeman, Woodmansey and many more.

Early Notables of the Woodman family

Distinguished members of the family include

Richard Woodman (1524?-1557) English Protestant martyr, born in Buxted and lived in nearby Warbleton in East Sussex. He was burnt during the Marian Persecutions in 1557 in Lewes

Woodman Ranking

In the United States, the name Woodman is the 5,843^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Woodman is ranked the 626^th most popular surname with an estimated 72 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Woodman family to Ireland

Some of the Woodman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodman migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Woodman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Woodman, who arrived in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1635 7
Henry Woodman, aged 22, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Merchant's Hope" 7
Hercules Woodman, (Archeleus), who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "James", bound for Newbury 7
Mr. Richard Woodman, (b. 1626), aged 9, British settler who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Abigail", bound for Boston 8
Richard Woodman, who arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1644 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John and Mary Woodman, who settled in Georgia in 1733

Woodman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Woodman, who settled in North Side in 1855 and was a fisherman

Woodman migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Woodman Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Woodman, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1761

Woodman Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Woodman, who settled in Cove Parish, Newfoundland in 1848 9
Mr. James Woodman, (b. 1805), aged 50, Cornish labourer departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, he died in the sinking 10

Woodman migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Woodman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

George Woodman, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia 11
Mr. George Woodman, (b. 1816), aged 17, English house servant who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1841 after being shot 12
Mr. Charles Woodman, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
William Woodman, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 14
Mr. William Woodman, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 24th March 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodman migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Woodman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Woodman, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Thomas Woodman, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Mary Woodman, aged 29, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
Thomas Woodman, aged 29, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
John Woodman, aged 8, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodman migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 16

Woodman Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Woodman, who settled in Jamaica in 1670

Contemporary Notables of the name Woodman (post 1700) +

Elizabeth "Betty" Woodman (1930-2018), née Abrahams, an American ceramic artist
Nicholas D. "Nick" Woodman (b. 1975), American businessman, and the founder and CEO of GoPro
Frederick Thomas Woodman (1871-1949), American politician, 31st Mayor of Los Angeles, California (1916-1919)
Francesca Woodman (1958-1981), American photographer best known for her black and white pictures
Dean Woodman (b. 1929), American businessman, philanthropist, and co-founder of the investment bank Robertson Stephens
Edwin E. Woodman, American Republican politician, Member of Wisconsin State Senate, 1880-81 17
David S. Woodman, American politician, Candidate for Michigan State Senate 21st District, 1910 17
Dana Woodman, American politician, Member of New Hampshire Governor's Council, 1849-51 17
Charles Walhart Woodman (1844-1898), American Republican politician, Lawyer; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1880; U.S. Representative from Illinois 4th District, 1895-97 17
Blair G. Woodman (1903-1988), American Republican politician, County agricultural extension agent; Member of Michigan State House of Representatives 87th District, 1965-68 17
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/wreck_of_emigrant_ship_john_1855.pdf
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1824 with 9 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1824
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html