Wodehouse (surname)

Wodehouse (/ˈwʊdhaʊs/ "wood-house") is an English surname and barony.

The name "de Wodehouse" is attested as early as in the 11th century, of one Bertram, of Wodehouse-tower, Yorkshire, who lived at the time of the Norman conquest.

John Wodehouse (died 1431) Member of Parliament for Norfolk and Suffolk, is the first of the family to be ~historically attested~ in Norfolk and arrived there as an outside administrator for the Duchy of Lancaster.

[2] The augmented coat of arms of Wodehouse from this time has been blazoned sable a chevron or, gutte de sang, between three cinquefoils ermine with the crest on a wreath, an arm erect, holding a club in the hand and on a scroll the motto frappe forte^, i. e. "strike strong", and at the bottom Agincourt, supported by two wild men.

[3] The native English term for "wild man", woodwose (from a putative Old English *wude-wāsa "wood-being"), has been transformed to woodhouse by popular etymology due to their appearance as supporters in the Woodhouse coat of arms.