WOODHAMS
Woodhams is an English habitational surname of Anglo‑Saxon origin, derived from the Old English words wudu meaning “wood” and ham meaning “homestead” or “village”. The literal meaning of the name is therefore “dweller at the homestead near the woods” and it is a locational name referring to an original bearer's proximity to a wooded area.
The name arose from several places called Woodham in the British Isles, notably in Buckinghamshire, County Durham, Essex and Surrey. Records show that the Buckinghamshire settlement was originally known as Hamm, from the pre‑7th Century Olde English word hamm meaning water‑meadow, while the Durham locality was recorded as Wodon in 1091 and derives from the dative plural of wudu. The Essex places appear in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Udeham, Odeham and Wideham, and the Surrey site is noted as Wodeham in 675. All of these names share the same etymology – “the homestead in the wood” – from wudu wood and ham estate.
The earliest known spelling of the family name is that of Alexander de Wudeham, dated 1170 in the Pipe Rolls of Essex during the reign of King Henry I. Another early record is that of Robert de Wooedenham in 1298 in the Essex Calendar of Patent Rolls. These documents confirm that the name was in use from at least the late 12th century.
Subsequent church records provide evidence of the name’s persistence. In 1617 John Wodhams was married to Elizabeth Swanson on 9 October at East Hanningfield, Essex; in 1680 a christening was recorded for George, son of Samuell and Ann Woodhams, at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster. A coat of arms granted to a Woodham family features a red field, a chevron between three silver roses, with a buck's head erased between two sprigs of roses all proper as crest.
Throughout England the concentration of the surname is greatest in the South‑East, but it is also found in Wales and Scotland. In the 19th and 20th centuries members of the Woodhams family emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, South Africa and other parts of Europe, spreading the name across the English‑speaking world. The name remains widely recognised in the United Kingdom and beyond.
Variants and alternative spellings of the surname include Woodham, Woodhouse, Woodhous, Wudam, Wudhams, Wodam and Wodhams. Other surnames of the same origin are Wodhamson, Woodhey, Woodhamsey, Hubble, Hobble and Jenner, all of which share a common derivation from Middle English terms relating to woodlands.
In sum, Woodhams is a firmly established English surname with clear roots in the Anglo‑Saxon period. Its meaning, historical attestations, geographic distribution and recognised variants all reflect a long continuity from the early medieval habitations near woodland to the present day.
Typical given names associated with the Woodhams surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- Gareth
- James
- John
- Matthew
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Simon
Female
- Alison
- Angela
- Christine
- Frances
- Jacqueline
- Karen
- Linda
- Louise
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Susan
- Tracey
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Woodhams in...
Braille
⠺⠕⠕⠙⠓⠁⠍⠎
Morse
.---------.......---...
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,565 people named Woodhams in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,184th most common surname in Britain. Around 24 in a million people in Britain are named Woodhams.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
