Woodrow
Woodrow was the 1653rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 102 babies. Its best year was 1913, when it ranked 44th; the most babies were born in 1918 (3,358). Over the last ten years it has moved up 620 places. More babies were named Woodrow in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning "row of houses by a wood" · English
Say it WUUD-roh /ˈwʊdroʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,653 boys, up 62 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 102boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19183,358 babies
- Total since 1880
- 39,246babies recorded
What does the name Woodrow mean?
Woodrow is an English surname for someone who lived in a row of houses by a wood, or near a place called Wood Row, from wood plus row. Wiktionary notes that parents of the 1910s chose it to honor President Woodrow Wilson. In the US it peaked in 1913, Wilson's first year in office.
wudu (Old English, “wood”)rāw (Old English, “row”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Woody, Wood.
See also: English names, names that mean tree.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Woodrow', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Woodrow (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for Woodrow
The usual nicknames for Woodrow are Woody. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Woodrow in the last five years, 15 were named Woody, against 33 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woody | Traditional | #8,220 | 70 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Woodrows go by each one.
Woodrow popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 139 since 1912.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,653 | 102 |
| 2020 | #1,715 | 91 |
| 2010 | #2,785 | 44 |
| 2000 | #3,634 | 23 |
| 1990 | #1,360 | 68 |
| 1980 | #923 | 94 |
| 1970 | #684 | 147 |
| 1960 | #546 | 208 |
| 1950 | #371 | 334 |
| 1940 | #268 | 443 |
| 1930 | #397 | 212 |
| 1920 | #183 | 774 |
| 1910 | #395 | 45 |
| 1900 | #1,046 | 8 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Woodrow, counting every spelling?
Woodrow has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,544 for boys in 2025, against #1,653 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Woodrow?
102 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Woodrow (0.03 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Woodrow born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 82 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Woodrow.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Woodrow?
About 9,400 people born in the US named Woodrow are alive today, with a median age of 64; half are between 43 and 77. That makes Woodrow a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Woodrow by state
How common Woodrow was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. In 37 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Woodrow: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Woodrow, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Woodrow
What does Woodrow mean?
Woodrow means “"row of houses by a wood"” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Woodrow?
Woodrow was the 1653rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 102 babies. Its best year was 1913, when it ranked 44th; the most babies were born in 1918 (3,358). Over the last ten years it has moved up 620 places. More babies were named Woodrow in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Woodrow a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Woodrow in the US.
Where is Woodrow most popular?
In 2021–2025, Woodrow was most common in Idaho (0.12 per 1,000 boys), followed by Oklahoma and Missouri.