Atwood
An English surname meaning “at the wood,” originally describing someone who lived by a wood or forest edge.
The #2,114 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,043 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Atwood is an English topographic surname built from Middle English atte, meaning “at the,” and wood, meaning a wood or forest. The original sense was simply “one who lives at the wood.” In older records, the phrase could appear as Attwood or be attached directly to the place-description.
History
The surname is well attested in England and later spread widely across the English-speaking world. Nineteenth-century surname writers noted that it occurs in many English counties and that it became especially established in places such as Boston and its district in North America. Modern bearers usually descend from one or more unrelated medieval families who adopted the same topographic byname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
This surname belongs to a large English family of names formed from the old pattern “at the + place-name or feature,” alongside names like Atwell and Atwater.
From the historical record
“ATWICK. See Wick. ATWOOD. ATTWOOD. See Wood. ATWORTIL See Worth. AUBERVILLE. Roger de Auberville came in with the Conqueror and is men- tioned in Domesd. as holder of 18 manors in Essex and Sufl'olk. Baronetage. De Abreville. H.R. AUBREY. A Norman personal name,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom