The Atwood Family History

What Does the Atwood Surname Mean? Historical Origins Explained

The surname Atwood is of English origin, deriving from the Old and Middle English words ‘atte’ and ‘wudu,’ which denote the border of a woodland area. Variants of the surname include Athwood, Attwood, Atwode, and Attewood. In England, the predominant concentration of Atwood families can be found in the southeastern regions, specifically in counties such as Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, Hampshire, and the city of London. Additionally, the county of Angus in Scotland is home to a significant number of families bearing the Atwood name. In the United States, the earliest recorded Atwood families established themselves in Virginia and Massachusetts. Over the years, they migrated to various states, including New York, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Maine, Connecticut, Texas, and California. Notable individuals with the surname Atwood include Rev. George Atwood, an 18th-century inventor renowned for creating the Atwood machine used in mathematics; Casey Lee Atwood, a professional race car driver; Calvin W. Atwood, an accomplished author; Donna Atwood, a champion figure skater who achieved recognition in 1941; Margaret Atwood, a celebrated Canadian poet and novelist; and Calvin G. Atwood, a flight instructor during World War II who tragically lost his life in a plane crash in 1943 while training women to become pilots.