Surname Saturday - Redwood

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This week's surname is REDWOOD

John & Jane Davidson (nee Redwood)

Variants: Readwood, Ridewood, Redewood, Reedwood, 

Redwood is a locational surname for a person who came from the villages of Redworth in Devon or Durham, or even a lost village by the name of "Redwood". It could also have derived from a person who lived near or close to a red wood.

The highest locational density of Redwood families in 1891 was in London with 17% and Devon and Somerset with 15%

My 3x great grandmother was a Redwood, she was called Jane Redwood and married, John Davidson. Jane was born in Herne, Kent and her family were from various towns along this stretch of the Kent coastline. Many of the men were mariners and worked at sea. (You can read more about Jane and her family at the The Davidson Family - Chapters 5-7)


Information from:
SurnameDB - Redwood
House of Names - Redwood
Ancestry Surname Distribution - Redwood