Wooden
A surname likely tied to wood, timber, or a place associated with wooden features, though the exact origin is not securely established.
The #4,702 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,910 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname most likely belongs to the broad family of English names formed from words for wood, timber, or wooden objects, but the historical record is not clear enough to pin down one definite source. It may have begun as a descriptive or locational name connected with a wooded place, a wooden structure, or some other wood-related feature. Because the surname is relatively uncommon and the excerpted sources do not give a direct entry for it, the precise derivation remains uncertain.
History
Wooden is present in the modern English-speaking world, especially in the United States, but it does not appear to be among the oldest or most heavily documented English surnames. In historical naming practice, surnames built on wood-related words often arose independently in more than one place, which can make a single family origin hard to prove. The name may also reflect spelling variation from similar surnames such as Wooden/Woodman/Woodin in some lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is uncommon enough that in the 2010 U.S. Census it ranked 4,702nd, with about 7,547 bearers.
From the historical record
“Wood Bridge [O.E. treiw + brycg] The wooden bridge has long been re- placed by a stone structure. TROWELL 1 (Eng.) Bel. to Trowell (Notts : TROWL(E I 13th cent. Trouwell, Domesday Trowalle), Trowle (Wilts : 14th cent.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)