Contents [hide]

Woodcock History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Woodcock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Woodcock family

The surname Woodcock was first found in Norfolk where William Wdecoch was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1175. One year later in 1176, the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire listed Roger Wudecoc and in 1200, the Feet of Fines for Essex noted William Widecoc as holding lands there at that time. 1

There are two theories as the the origin of the name. The first is that it was derived from the Anglo/Saxon name Wudu-coc and the more common second theory that the name was derived as a nickname from the bird 'woodcock' and "at one time a common term for a simpleton in many early plays. " 2

There are also two early entries for the family in Scotland: William Wodcok, Burgess of Glasgow, 1488 and Francis Wodcok who held land there in 1552. 3

Early History of the Woodcock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woodcock research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1603, 1643, 1646 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Woodcock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodcock Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Woodcock, Woodcocke, Woodkooke, Woodcott, Wudcock and many more.

Early Notables of the Woodcock family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Martin Woodcock (1603-1646), alias John Farington, an English Franciscan martyr...

Woodcock Ranking

In the United States, the name Woodcock is the 3,455^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Woodcock is ranked the 618^th most popular surname with an estimated 10,660 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Woodcock family to Ireland

Some of the Woodcock family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodcock migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Woodcock Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Woodcock, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1630
John Woodcock, who settled in Boston in 1635
George Woodcock, who settled in Virginia in 1636
Georg Woodcock, who arrived in Virginia in 1636 6
John Woodcock, who landed in Virginia in 1639 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodcock Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Woodcock, who landed in Virginia in 1718 6
Robert Woodcock, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1727 6
Job Woodcock, who arrived in New England in 1761 6

Woodcock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph Woodcock, aged 38, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1812 6
Frederick Woodcock, who landed in Arkansas in 1882 6

Woodcock Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Ernest E Woodcock, who arrived in Arkansas in 1900 6

Woodcock migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Woodcock Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Abraham Woodcock U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 7
Mr. Abraham Woodcock Sr., U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 7
Mr. John Woodcock Sr., U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 7
Mr. Abraham Woodcock U.E. who settled in Fredericksburgh [Greater Napanee], Ontario c. 1786 he served in the Royal Rangers of New York 7

Woodcock migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Woodcock Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Jonathan Woodcock, English convict who was convicted in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Joseph Woodcock, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Miss Margaret Woodcock, (Mary), (b. 1775), aged 42, Irish servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" on 21st March 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia then transported on to Tasmania per "Elizabeth Henrietta" 10
William Woodcock, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Agamemnon" on April 22, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 11
Mr. James Woodcock, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 22nd July 1830, arriving in New South Wales 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodcock Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century

"Miss Mary Woodcock, (b. 1808), aged 20, English laundress who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 14 years for receiving stolen goods, transported aboard the ""Competitor"" on 9th June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia" 13

Woodcock migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Woodcock Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Woodcock, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Morning Star" in 1861
William Woodcock, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Morning Star" in 1861
Alfred Woodcock, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cairngorm" in 1863
Jane Woodcock, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cairngorm" in 1863
Henry Woodcock, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rob Roy" in 1865
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodcock migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14

Woodcock Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Joshua Woodcock, (b. 1624), aged 11, British settler travelling aboard the ship "The Dorset" arriving in Barbados in September 1635 15

Contemporary Notables of the name Woodcock (post 1700) +

John Woodcock (1954-1998), American NFL football player
John A. Woodcock Jr. (b. 1950), United States federal judge
Leonard Freel Woodcock (1911-2001), President of the United Auto Workers (UAW)
Owen Preston "O.P." Woodcock (b. 1983), American builder, best known for his work with Marsh & Saxelbye
John Charles Woodcock OBE (1926-2021), English cricket writer and journalist, cricket correspondent for The Times from 1954 until 1988
Thomas Woodcock (1888-1918), English soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross
Jo Woodcock (b. 1988), English television, film and stage actress
Bruce Woodcock (1921-1997), English heavyweight boxer, British and Empire heavyweight champion (1945 to 1950)
John Woodcock (1603-1646), English Franciscan martyr
Wilf Woodcock (1892-1966), English footballer
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Woodcock family +

HMS Royal Oak

Albert George Woodcock (1920-1939), British Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 16

RMS Lusitania

Miss Sarah Emma Woodcock, American 2nd Class passenger from Fall River, Massachusetts, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 17

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Agamemnon voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1820 with 179 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agamemnon/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/competitor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/