View Message

'The American Genealogical Research Institute (AGRI) tells us that Woodward is an occupational name derived from the combination of "wood" with the Old English "weard," a guardian. The woodward (warden of the woods) was employed by estate owners to guard their private timber stands and game reserves. However, some researchers assert that "Woodward" is the anglicization of the Norman knight, Garde du Bois, "guardian of the wood." Further, the Norman Garde du Bois is an adaptation from the Norse "Videvarde." Norsemen settled in Normandy about the 8th c. AD. In England, some early variants of the name were Wadard, Wodeward (1272), and Woddeword (1379). AGRI says that the name Woodward is most abundant in the English counties of Worcestershire, Derbyshire, and Gloucestershire.' Taken from http://www.woodward-mattson.com/woodward_history.html