Origin
Woods : 1: English: variant of Wood with plural or post-medieval excrescent -s.2: Irish: adopted as a translation of Ó Cuill ‘descendant of Coll’ (see Quill) or in Ulster of Mac Con Coille ‘son of Cú Choille’ a personal name meaning ‘hound of the wood’ which has also been mistranslated Cox as if formed with coileach ‘cock rooster’.3: In some cases also an Americanized form of French Dubois and Gadbois.
Bann : 1: German: from Middle High German ban ‘area (of fields or woods) banned from agricultural or other use’ hence probably a topographic name for someone who lived by such a reserve. See also Banwart.2: English (Cheshire): probably from an unrecorded Middle English personal name Banne (Old English Banna of uncertain meaning). Compare Banning; or from Old French bane banne ‘hamper pannier; tip-cart’.
Barlage : German: habitational name from a place near Oldenburg so named from Middle Low German bār ‘bear’ or ‘bare’ + lage ‘open fields between woods wet pasture’.
Blumhardt : German:: 1: topographic name from several woods in Württemberg so named from Middle High German bluome ‘flower’ hart ‘rock wood mountain range’.2: from an ancient Germanic personal name composed of bluom ‘flower’ + hard ‘strong hard’.
Bosch : 1: Dutch; German (also Bösch): topographic name for someone living near the woods from Dutch bos(ch) ‘wood’ Middle Low German bosch ‘bushes woods’. This surname is also found in France (mainly Alsace and Lorraine). Compare Bosh and Dutch Vandenbosch.2: South German (Bösch): see Boesch.3: Germanized form of Sorbian Boš and Bož: from a pet form of a Slavic personal name beginning with Bo- such as Bogusław (see Boguslawski) and Bolesław (see Bolek).4: Catalan and southern French: topographic name from Catalan and Old Occitan bosc ‘wood’ (from Late Latin boscus) or a habitational name from Bosch a place called with this word.
Brandli : Swiss German (Brändli): topographic name for someone who lived near a burnt area (in the woods or in a town).
Cantalupo : Italian: habitational name from any of various places in Italy called Cantalupo thought to be a grimly humorous name derived from Latin cantare ‘to sing’ + lupus ‘wolf’ i.e. denoting a settlement where the wolves could be heard howling in the uncleared woods around. This is a widespread placename but some scholars now dispute its derivation believing it to have been altered by folk etymology.
Cantlon : English (Middlesex of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in Normandy and Picardy (France) named Canteloup or Canteleu from Old Norman French cante(r) ‘to sing’ + lou leu ‘wolf’. These appear originally to have been grimly humorous names denoting settlements where the wolves could be heard howling in the surrounding uncleared woods. Compare Italian Cantalupo.
Flecker : 1: German: topographic name from Middle High German vleck(e) ‘place spot’ frequent in place and farm names formed with Fleck often referring to a settlement on open land surrounded by woods.2: German: occupational name from an agent derivative of Middle High German vlec(ke) ‘patch spot’ (see Fleck).3: English: occupational name for a maker of wattled hurdles from a Middle English agent-noun derivative of Old Norse flaki fleki ‘hurdle’. See Fleck 2.4: English: northern form of Fletcher.
Forrest : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived in or near a royal forest or a metonymic occupational name for a keeper or worker in one. Middle English forest was not as today a near-synonym of wood but referred specifically to a large area of woodland reserved by law for the purposes of hunting by the king and his nobles. The same applied to the European cognates both ancient Germanic and Romance. The English word is from Middle English forest ‘forest’ Old French forest Late Latin forestis (silva). This is generally taken to be a derivative of foris ‘outside’; the reference was probably to woods lying outside a settlement. On the other hand Middle High German for(e)st has been held to be a derivative of Old High German foraha ‘fir’ (see Forster) with the addition of a collective suffix.2: Irish: this name is also frequently attested in Ireland where it may be a variant of Forrestal.
Freiwald : 1: East German: habitational name from any of the places called Freiwalde Freienwalde or Freiwaldau.2: German: topographic or status name for someone who lived near or owned woods free of tax obligations from Middle High German vrī ‘free’ + walt ‘wood’.
Hain : 1: English: topographic name from Middle English heghen a weak plural of hay from Old English (ge)hæg ‘enclosure’ denoting someone who lived at a farm or a habitational name from any of various places called with this word. See also Haynes.2: English: from the Middle English personal name Hain Heyne. Like Deyn this may be a rhyming pet form of Reynald (see Reginald) or other names of Norman origin beginning with Rein- such as Reyner and Rainbert. Alternatively the name may be a variant of Hagan.3: English: nickname for a wretched individual from Middle English hain(e) heyne hayn ‘wretch niggard’. In some cases however it is possible that this name derives from a spelling (not a pronunciation) of hi(g)ne ‘servant’ (see Hine) with the inverted spelling -ey- for i.4: German: topographic name for someone who lived by a small woods copse Middle High German hage(n) (see Hagen 1) hain or a habitational name from any of various places called with this word.5: German: from the ancient Germanic personal name Hagin originally a byname from the same element as in 2 above.6: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metronymic from the Yiddish personal name Khaye ‘life’ + the Slavic possessive suffix -in.
Hardt : 1: German: topographic name for someone who lived by woods used as pasture from Middle High German hart.2: German: from a short form of an ancient Germanic compound personal name beginning with hard ‘hardy brave strong’.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Hart.
Hudlow : Americanized form of German Huttenloch a habitational name from a place in Württemberg the second element being from the Middle High German lōch ‘small woods underbrush’.
Kamholz : German: very rare variant and an Americanized form of Kammholz a topographic name for someone who lived at or owned woods near a mountain ridge from Kamm ‘crest of a mountain range’ + Holz ‘wood forest’; or a metonymic occupational name for a producer of wood for combs or weaving gear from Middle High German kam(b) ‘comb’ + holz ‘wood’.
Larcher : 1: French: variant with fused definite article l' of Archer ‘bowman’. It is also found in England as a surname of Huguenot origin.2: German (Tyrol): topographic name fore someone dwelling at a larch tree or larch woods see Larch.
Lodholz : North German: topographic name for someone near or in a swampy woods from lodde ‘dirt mire’ + holz ‘wood’.
Loeper : North German (also Löper): occupational name for a messenger or one who made excursions into the woods (see Dutch Looper). Compare Loper.
Lofink : German: nickname for a cheerful independent person like a finch in the woods from Middle High German lō ‘brush woods’ + vinke ‘finch’.
Loge : 1: German: topographic name from Middle Low German lōh lōge ‘copse small woods brushland’. See Loh 1.2: Norwegian (Løge): habitational name from a farmstead named in Old Norse Leikvin (see Loken).3: French (also Logé): habitational name from any of several places in northern France called La Loge named with the Old French word loge ‘lodge’ which is ultimately derived from ancient Germanic laubja ‘(hut covered with) leaves’.
Looper : Dutch: literally ‘runner’ an occupational name for a messenger or for someone who made excursions into the woods. Compare Loper.
Lopeman : Possibly an Americanized form of Dutch Loopman: occupational name for a messenger or for someone who made excursions into the woods from lopen ‘to run’ + man ‘man’. The surname Loopman is no longer found in the Netherlands. Compare Looper.
Loper : 2: North German (Löper): cognate of 1 above. Compare Loeper.1: Americanized form of Dutch Looper an occupational name for a messenger or for someone who made excursions into the woods.
Pinnegar : English (southwestern):: 1: perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English occupational term pan(n)ager pen(n)ager either ‘one who has the right of pannage’ (Old French pasnageour) or more likely ‘collector of pannage dues’ a sense recorded for medieval Latin pasnagator. The pannager would have been a manorial officer who collected pasturage rents from the villagers who put their pigs into the woods to forage for acorns etc.2: alternatively perhaps a habitational name from Binegar in Somerset. This placename derives from Old English hangra ‘hanger wooded slope’ with an uncertain first element probably either the Old English female personal name Bēage (genitive Bēagen) or the word begen ‘berried growing with berries’.3: alternatively perhaps a variant of the occupational name Pillinger ‘maker of pilches (leather outer garments)’ (see Pullinger 1) with loss of the -n- and substitution of [l] by [n] to avoid association with the word pillager. Compare Pinegar 3.
Ringger : 1: Swiss German: occupational name for someone who 'ringed' the hogs to prevent them from rooting in the fields or woods or for a wrestler or fighter (Middle High German ringer).2: German: variant of Rinker.
Schlag : German: topographic name from Middle High German slac ‘clearing in a wood’ or ‘barrier’ ‘partitioned land into fields grass area woods etc.’ or a habitational name from a place called with this word.
Selvaggio : Italian: nickname for an unruly or uncouth person from selvaggio earlier salvaggio ‘wild savage’ or an occupational or status name for someone who lived and worked in the woods isolated from urban or village life from Latin silvaticus (via Proveçal selvage Old French sauvage) derivative of Latin silva ‘wood’ influenced by Latin salvus ‘whole’ i.e. ‘natural’.
Stockwood : from any of various places named Stockwood or similar such as Stockwood in Keynsham (Somerset) for which the 14th-century bearers in Somerset cited below constitute the earliest evidence Stockwood (Dorset) which is recorded as Stocwode in 1223 Stoke Dry Wood in Stoke Dry (Rutland) recorded as Stocwod in 1235 Stock Wood in Hullavington (Wilts) recorded as Stokewod in 1460 and Stoke Woods in Stoke Canon (Devon) recorded as Stokewode in 1322. The place-names all derive from Middle English wode ‘wood’ (Old English wudu) some certainly with stoc ‘place secondary settlement’ and others probably with stocc ‘stock stump’ as the first element.
Westerhold : North German: habitational name from any of the places called Westerholt for example in Oldenburg Hanover and Westphalia or a topographic name for someone who lived in woods to the west of a settlement from Middle Low German wester ‘westerly’ + holt ‘wood forest’.
Whittle : English: habitational name from Whittle (Lancashire Northumberland) Whittle le Woods (Lancashire) or a topographic name for someone who lived ‘(by the) white hill’ from Middle English whit(te) ‘white’ + hil(le) ‘hill’. Alternatively a topographic name for someone who lived ‘(by the) clear spring or stream’ from Middle English whit(te) + wel(la) wel(l)e ‘spring stream’. Occasionally this name may have been confused with Whitehall.
Winkel : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a piece of land enclosed by woods or rivers or on a street corner in a town or city from Middle High German winkel German Winkel ‘corner’. In time this word also came to denote a corner shop (see Winkelmann Winkler). This surname is also found in Denmark Poland and France (mainly Lorraine).2: German: habitational name from any of various places called Winkel.3: Dutch and Flemish (Van Winkel Van der Winkel Van den Winkel): habitational name from any of numerous minor places called with winkel ‘corner’ for example (Ten) Winkel in many provinces of Belgium and the Netherlands or either of two places called Oostwinkel in East and West Flanders.
Woodiwiss : English (mainly Derbyshire and Yorkshire): nickname from Middle English wodewose wodewese (Old English wudewāse) ‘wild man of the woods’. This word was also used to denote a person dressed to represent such a being in a play or pageant. Wodewoses (male and female) were mythical creatures of English and ancient Germanic folklore akin to the fauns and satyrs of Classical mythology. The surname may also have been acquired by someone who lived and worked in the woods or perhaps by an unusually hairy man.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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