The Last Name "Attwood" and its many variations (Atte-Wode, Atwood, Atwode, Attewode Attwode, Attewoode, Atwod, Atwud, Atud etc.), originated from a locatiion based mediaeval bye-name, describing an individual living in or near a woods or trees.
The Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames (Oxford University Press, 1997) gives the following:
"Attwood, Atwood: Attewode 1243...Robert Atwode 1457...'Dweller by the wood' OE wudu."
The name is made up of the preposition at, (Old English ǽt) which coalesced with the definite article the, to form the obsolete preposition atte, (Middle English) together with the Old English wudu, wiodu, wudu, wude, wode, wodd, woode, uud etc. (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989 Clarendon Press)
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