Woodbury as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Woodbury

What is the meaning of the name Woodbury ?

The baby name Woodbury is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈwʊdbəri/ (respelling: WOOD-buh-ree).

Woodbury is English in Origin.

Woodbury is an English surname-turned-given name taken from numerous place-names formed from Old English wudu “wood” + byrig, the dative of burh “fort, fortified town.” The sense is “fortified place by the wood” or “wooded stronghold.” Settlements called Woodbury appear in Devon and elsewhere in England, and the name traveled to North America, where it marks towns in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Minnesota.

As a forename, Woodbury surfaced sporadically in 18th–19th‑century New England as a transferred family surname and persists today as a rare, genteel choice. Variants and spellings include Woodberry and Woodbery; the affectionate short form is Woody. Though historically masculine, it reads as unisex in modern usage. Related place-surname counterparts include Newbury and Westbury, which share the -bury element. Woodbury conveys a quietly rustic, patrician feel anchored in Anglo‑Saxon toponymy.

⚙ Woodbury is extremely rare. Our whole dataset turns up only 4 recorded uses, across 2 countries.