Map of England showing where the Wooden arms are recorded
The Wooden arms were recorded in Suffolk, c. 1620.
Suffolk was wool country, and its cloth towns were among the wealthiest in England. Clothier families bought manors with their profits, and holding a manor was the ordinary route to a coat of arms.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in England in this period.
James VI and I
Sovereign of the period
James VI and I
1603–1625
Reigning in England when the Wooden arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in England
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
Granting authority
The College of Arms in London has regulated the use of coats of arms throughout England and Wales since 1484.
How they got arms
Families typically obtained their coats of arms through a formal grant from the Crown or by proving their ancient right to them.
Where arms were recorded
All official coats of arms are recorded in the registers kept at the College of Arms, which date back to the fifteenth century.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Suffolk.
Origin & History of the Wooden Family in England
The surname Wooden is a locative name, meaning it likely originated from a person’s association with a specific place or a physical landmark. In the context of early seventeenth-century England, the name was well-established in the county of Suffolk. Records confirm that families bearing this name were present in the region by 1620, living within a landscape defined by dense woodlands and rural parishes. During this period, surnames were often adopted based on a family's proximity to a local forest or a clearing known as a "wood." As these families grew and moved between villages, the name became a permanent marker of their ancestral connection to the Suffolk countryside. This history reflects the common practice of the era where geography and local environment played a primary role in how families were identified by their neighbors and local officials.
Wooden Meaning & Related Branches
Root word
Wudu
Old English term referring to a forest, grove, or timber.
This name
WoodenAn occupational surname for someone who worked with wood or lived near a forest.
also spelled
Woodin
Woodon
Documented Sources
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Copinger, Walter Arthur, The Manors of Suffolk: Notes on their History and Devolution, 1905
Suffolk Archives, Parish Registers of Suffolk, 1600–1650
Redstone, Vincent Burrough, The Records of the City of Norwich and the County of Suffolk, 1910
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eagleNobility, strength and a keen mind
eagleNobility, strength and a keen mind
