Haywood
A surname that usually points to a place called Heywood or to a name shaped by the words for “hay” and “wood.”
The #1,970 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,816 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Haywood is usually a locational surname, especially from Heywood in Lancashire, and there are also place-based uses in Herefordshire and Staffordshire. The place-name is generally understood as meaning “enclosed wood” or “the wood by the enclosure,” from Old English elements related to a hedge or enclosure and a woodland. Some writers also note that Haywood can sometimes be a spelling or later form of Hayward, so not every family with the name has the same origin.
History
Lower explicitly treats Haywood as a place-name surname and points readers to Heywood. Bardsley likewise connects it with Heywood in the old parish of Bury, South Lancashire. In modern English-speaking countries the name is found chiefly in Britain and the United States, with the American form often reflecting immigration from British families or later spelling regularization.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name can be confused with Hayward, and some historical spellings may have shifted between the two.
From the historical record
“HA WORTH. A chapelry in Yorkshire. HAYWOOD. See Heywood. Also a liberty in co. Hereford, and a hamlet in co. Stafford. HAZARD. See Hassard. HAZELDEN. An ancient manor, in or near Dallington, co. Sussex. The name ap- jjears to have been corrupted to Haseldine, Haseltine, Hazeldine, Hesseltine, &c.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom