Woodrow

About Woodrow

Woodrow is an English surname name meaning “row of houses by a wood.” Its American history is closely connected with President Woodrow Wilson, while songwriter Woodrow “Woody” Guthrie gave it a very different cultural life. Pronounced WOOD-roh, it keeps a rural place-name image within two strongly defined syllables.

From a place to a family name

The surname developed from an Old English place description for houses arranged beside woodland. Woodrow preserves both parts of that description, although it has long functioned as a complete family name rather than an ordinary phrase.

Wilson received Woodrow, his mother's maiden surname, as his middle name. His first name was Thomas, but he became publicly known by the middle one. The presidential association therefore began as an example of a maternal surname carried into a child's name.

Woody is a familiar shortening, particularly recognizable through Guthrie. It keeps the opening syllable and adds a lighter ending, while Woodrow retains the full surname structure.

Woodrow Wilson and the presidency

Woodrow Wilson served as president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. The international events of his administration included the First World War and the creation of a proposed new system for maintaining peace.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize for 1919 for his role in founding the League of Nations. That honor placed the name in the history of international diplomacy as well as American presidential politics.

The surname-to-given-name connection became especially visible during his political rise. In American records Woodrow reached #44 for boys in 1913, the first year of his presidency. Its largest annual count came during the same broad period, in 1918.

Those dates place the name's exceptional American prominence firmly within Wilson's public career. Its later use was much smaller, even though the presidential name remained familiar.

Woodrow Guthrie and American song

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma, in 1912 and became known as Woody. His songs chronicled working people's lives, journeys, hardships, and hopes.

Before his musical career developed, Guthrie worked as a sign painter. He traveled during the Great Depression, performing in saloons and work camps and absorbing older ballads while writing new songs about people and places around him.

In 1940 he recorded hours of songs and stories for the Library of Congress. The recordings preserved more than finished musical performances: they also captured his spoken recollections and storytelling.

His name connects Woodrow with American folk culture and supplies one of its clearest nickname examples. The formal Woodrow and familiar Woody belong to the same person, while suggesting quite different public settings.

American popularity

Woodrow's strongest American male ranking was #44 in 1913. Its largest annual count was 3,358 in 1918. By 1950 the count had fallen to 334, and by 2000 it was twenty-three.

In 2025, 102 American boys received Woodrow, ranking #1,653. That is above its 2000 total but far below the extraordinary levels of the 1910s.

How popular is Woodrow?

In 2025, Woodrow ranked #1,653 among boys in the United States, with 102 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1900; its largest annual count was 3,358 in 1918. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.