The Woody One-Name Study (ONS) is a research project focusing on the world wide occurrences of the Woody surname and variants, as opposed to a particular pedigree lineage or pedigree. The project is a natural extension of the Woody DNA Project, Woody Family Roots and The Woody Family of Old Virginia. The Woody DNA Project includes basic lineages, while Woody Family Roots and The Woody Family of Old Virginia include extensive lineages. The Woody Family of Old Virginia is a one-name study of all Woodys with roots in Colonial Virginia.

        The objective of this one-name study is to collect data, information and images that assist in achievement of the goals listed below:

The origin of the name and early references
The meaning of the name
The name's frequency with reference to location and the general population
The geographical distribution of the name with reference to time
The identification of the various worldwide branches of the name
Name variants
Patterns of immigration and emigration

        The vast majority of Woodys and variants are found in the USA; however, there is a considerable population of Woodys and variants in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, India, France and other countries worldwide. Significant research has been done and published for several extensive Woody lineages in the US. This project will not republish these lineages, but will provide links and/or references to appropriate web sites, books and other media. The project will also publish images of source documents and people associated with these lineages, as well as, a list of researchers and their areas of interest.
        As with a DNA project, a successful one-name project depends on cooperation between people with different goals, backgrounds and varying levels of experience; however, a cooperative effort between people studying the same surname can be a benefit to all involved. We would like to include web links and book references to Woody (or variant) lineages from all over the world. We would also like to include images of documents, people, etc. Please send us these references and images and we will include them on the this web site.

Origin & Development of the Woody Surname

        As seen in the will of Thomas Woody, the Woody surname has been recorded in the British Isles since 1605; however, it is virtually impossible to find this name in books that focus on the etymology of surnames. Also, notice the three different spellings of the name in the will and probate proceeding. Currently, the most common variation of this surname in the British Isles is Woodey and we did find a modest discussion of this name in A Dictionary of British Surnames.
        However, an examination the ancient spelling and meaning of the word "wood" proved more interesting and productive. The surnames of Wood and Woody both seem to be derived from the Ancient Anglo-Saxon two syllable word "wudu". The name and derivatives meant "the substance of trees"; i.e. wood, a forest and a tree. It was also often used as a modifier, as in wudu-ælfenne (wood-elves) and wudu-æppel (wood-apple). Toward the end of the fourteenth century, wudu gradually became wode, but retained the two syllable pronunciation. In his poetry, Geoffrey Chaucer made use of the rhyming potential of the two syllable word, but after his death in 1400, wode largely became a one syllable word. Wode then became Woode and the "e" was eventually dropped by many people. Since most early surnames were based on the bearer's occupation, residence or perhaps even demeanor (wudu also meant wild and crazy), wood is a part many names (i.e. Greenwood, Attwood, Woodnut, etc.); however, some of those people with the surname derived from the original wudu chose to retain the two syllable pronunciation. By the 16^th century, Woodye seemed to be a more common variation. So, although the spelling has changed, the pronunciation of  Woody, Woodie, Wooddy, Woodey, etc. has remained unchanged since the time of Chaucer.
        The above explanation seems to be very logical and plausible; however, the yDNA results of the Wood DNA Project and the Woody DNA Project (see below) do not support this theory.
        In the late 1600s,  the name of James Woody/Wooddy was recorded as Woode in the Parish Register of  St. Martins Parish, New Kent County, Virginia. We have heard that the name Woode is still being used with both the single and double syllable pronunciations, but we don't have any confirmation of this assertion. Perhaps our readers can enlighten us.
        It is also interesting to note that the 2002 surname statistics for England, Wales and the Isle of Man include five instances the ancient surname Wudu.
      
 

Name Variants, Deviants and Mistranscriptions

        In many cases, the transcription of old documents is a difficult task at best. As they are today, the writers and transcribers of documents were sometimes impatient and sloppy. What's more, before widespread literacy, the spelling of names was often left to the census taker, minister, clerk, priest, justice or other person that was recording the information. So it should not come as a surprise that a wide variety of variations have been recorded for many surnames. What is somewhat surprising to us is that many literate English writing people were so seemingly indifferent to their spelling. As Bill Bryson writes: "Most people throughout much of the history of the English language have seemed remarkably unconcerned about the niceties of spelling -- even to the point of spelling one word two ways in the same sentence. People were even casual about their names. More than eighty spellings of Shakespeare's name have been found. Shakespeare himself did not spell the name the same way twice in any of his six known signatures and even spelled it two ways in one document, his will." Another good example of this indifference is the 1605 will of Thomas Woody noted above.
        We have registered Woody, Woodey, Wooddy, Woodie, Woddy and Woode with the Guild of One-Name Studies. Some other variants and deviants that we have encountered are: Woodys, Wooddey, Wooddie, Woodies, Woodye, Wooddye, Woodyes, Woodde, Woodis, Woodia, Wodey, Woddey, Wody, Wodys, Woddie, Wodye, Woddye, Woady, Wuda, Wudy, deWoody and others. Additionally, The capital letters of "W" and "M" were/are frequently mistranscribed, so Woody and variants were recorded as Moody and variants, as well as the reverse. Also, Waddy and Woddy were/are also mistranscribed, in both directions.