Woodrow

Meaning of Woodrow

Woodrow, pronounced WOOD-roh, originated as an English habitational surname derived from the Old English elements “wudu” (wood) and “rāw” (row), thereby designating either a line of cottages skirting a forest or a hedgerow that marked a boundary; when transferred to given-name use in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century, it acquired an additional layer of political resonance through President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, whose tenure propelled the name to its historic apex in 1918. Although its national rank has gradually receded from the Top 100 to the mid-800s, longitudinal birth-record data reveal a modest but steady persistence that distinguishes Woodrow from many other early-century favorites that have vanished entirely from contemporary registers. The name’s semantic link to timbered landscapes evokes connotations of firmness, rootedness, and quiet endurance, while its familiar diminutive “Woody” lends informal approachability without severing ties to the dignified full form. Within Anglo-American nomenclature, Woodrow therefore occupies a niche that is simultaneously rustic and presidential—an uncommon synthesis that may appeal to parents seeking historical gravitas tempered by a subtle, nature-inflected charm.