Woodruff Family History
Woodruff Name Meaning
English: from Middle English woderove ‘woodruff sweet woodruff’ (Old English wudurofe) a sweet-scented plant. The leaves of the plant have a sweet smell and the surname may also have been a nickname for one who used it as a perfume or perhaps an ironical nickname for a malodorous person. Alternatively perhaps a topographic name for someone who lived at or near a place where woodruff grew. There may have been some confusion with Woodrow .
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022