Explore the Family Name Woodyard
The meaning of Woodyard
English (East Anglia): topographic or occupational name from Middle English wode ‘wood’ + yerde ‘yard’ (Old English wudu + geard), for a person who lived or worked at an enclosure in which wood was chopped or stored.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Woodyard in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Woodyard has seen a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 10,208, but by 2010 it had dropped to 10,572, marking a decline of 3.57%. Despite this decrease in rank, the actual count of people with the Woodyard surname increased from 2,897 to 3,032 during this decade, an increase of 4.66%. However, when considered in proportion to the population, the presence of the Woodyard surname per 100,000 people slightly decreased by 3.74%, going from 1.07 in 2000 to 1.03 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,208 | #10,572 | -3.57% |
| Count | 2,897 | 3,032 | 4.66% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.07 | 1.03 | -3.74% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Woodyard
Regarding ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the majority of individuals with the Woodyard surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, albeit with a slight decrease of 3.10% over the decade. The second largest ethnic group within this surname was those identifying as Black, which saw a small increase from 16.74% in 2000 to 17.35% in 2010. Notably, there were significant percentage increases amongst those identifying as Hispanic (from 0.93% to 1.58%) and those identifying as belonging to two or more races (from 1.45% to 2.34%). In 2010, new entries in the data showed individuals with the Woodyard surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native, although these groups remained a small proportion of the overall total.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 80.26% | 77.77% | -3.1% |
| Black | 16.74% | 17.35% | 3.64% |
| Two or More Races | 1.45% | 2.34% | 61.38% |
| Hispanic | 0.93% | 1.58% | 69.89% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.69% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.26% | 0% |
Woodyard ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Woodyard is British & Irish, which comprises 53.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (17.9%) and Scandinavian (5.6%). Additional ancestries include Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Eastern European, Angolan & Congolese, and Filipino & Austronesian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 53.4% |
| French & German | 17.9% |
| Scandinavian | 5.6% |
| Other | 23.1% |
Possible origins of the surname Woodyard
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Woodyard have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| Belfast, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
| Lancashire, United Kingdom | 82.50% |
What Woodyard haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Woodyard is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Woodyard surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Woodyard have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Woodyard" Surname 37.5%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Woodyard" Surname 41.7%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Woodyard" Surname 28.6%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Woodyard" Surname 15.1%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Woodyard?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Woodyard are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition