Sherwood Surname Origins & History

Authorities on the origins of surnames such as Reaney and Cottle are divided on the meaning and origin of the name. I tend to support Reaney's view that it probably derives from the Old English 'wood belonging to a shire', and was thus probably first given to persons living in a wood by any shire boundary. It may therefore have sprung up simultaneously in several different parts of England in much the same way as other topographical surnames such as Wood and Hill.
It is also a place name in Nottinghamshire and in Devon, although Cottle gives the latter as derived from 'bright wood' from the OE word 'scir' meaning 'bright'.

The Literary Digest (1928) states that Sherwood is an English name signifying "Belonging to Sherwood, Nottingham". In the C14 the spelling was commonly Sherwode, Shyrewode: in the C13, Scher(e)wode, Scirewode: in A.D. 958 Scirwude. (The first element is rather Old English 'Scir', bright, light-coloured, than OE 'Scir', district, Shire. In the Calendarium Inquisitorium Ad Quod Damnum (Edward II to Henry VII) 1325-26, Will'us de Sherwode is mentioned. Certainly there was a prominent Saxon named 'Scirwudu' living in the North of England at the time of King Alfred who may have given his name to some families in that region.

Despite the legends of Robin Hood which have made Sherwood Forest famous, the greatest concentration of the surname in early times was not in Nottinghamshire, but in Yorkshire and Berkshire. I have studied the distribution in the IGI and the indexes of Births, Marriages & Deaths from 1837 in England, Wales & Scotland, and the largest clusters are in the N.Riding of Yorkshire, followed by Berkshire, Worcestershire, London, Notts and Kent in that order.

- Phil Sherwood, reprinted with the permission of the author.  Also see Phil's ancestry page.

Sherwoods in History

Henry Burr Sherwood:(1829-1906) Inventor, miller, and farmer in Westport, Connecticut.

Robert Emmet Sherwood: (1896–1955) American playwright, editor, and screenwriter.

Thomas Kilgore Sherwood: (1903-1976) A noted American chemical engineer and a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering.

William Hall Sherwood: (1854-1911) American musician and founder of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music.

William of Sherwood: (or Shyreswood, Shireswood): (1190-1249) Medieval English logician and teacher.

Robin Hood: (1200??) English folk hero and outlaw, famous for robbing the rich to feed the poor. Not exactly a Sherwood, but how could we leave him out? See links to the left for more information.

Famous Sherwoods

Brandi Sherwood: (born 1971) Former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA and a model on The Price is Right.

Donald L. "Don" Sherwood: (born 1941) An American politician who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, from 1999 to 2007.

William "Billy" Wyman Sherwood: (born 1965) A musician, record producer, engineer and one-time member of the band Yes.