Woodworth
An English habitational surname meaning someone who lived by a wooded farmstead or enclosure.
The #3,782 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,982 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually explained from Old English elements for "wood" and "worth," a term for an enclosed homestead, farmstead, or settlement. In other words, it originally described someone who lived at, or came from, a farmstead by the wood. The sense is closely parallel to many other English surnames built from landscape features plus -worth.
History
The surname is established in England and is recorded in later English surname lists and etymological discussions. It also spread to North America through English migration, where it is now far more visible than in the United Kingdom. Some older writers connected the ending -worth with a general place-name element meaning a farm or enclosure, which fits this surname well.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Old English -worth element appears in many English place-names and surnames, including Bosworth, Farnsworth, and Wordsworth.
From the historical record
“WOODWARDS, (the) Woodward's (Son). WOODWORTH (Eng.) Dweller at the Farm- stead by the Wood fO.E, wudu + wor^] WOODYAT ] (Eng.) Dweller at the Gate of WOODYATE Uhe Wood [U.E. wode, O.E. WOODYATT i oiwrfw + M.E. yai{e, O.E. geat. a gate, opening] w§§S^ir}f-^°°'"-.i-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)