Underwood is a surname of English topographic origin.
Deriving from the Old English "under" a preposition meaning "under" or "below", plus "wuda", a wood. The name was originally given to one dwelling at the foot of a wood or literally "below the trees of a forest". The name may also be locational from three places named with these elements i.e., Underwood in Derbyshire, England, Underwood, Nottinghamshire, England. The surname is first recorded in the latter half of the 12th Century (see below). One William Underwude appears in the 1219 Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire, and a William under the Wode in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire. From the beginning of the surviving parish registers in 1559 there were Underwoods recorded in Pickering parish, North Yorkshire, England. On 2 January 1634, one Joseph Underwood, aged 23 yrs., embarked from London on the ship "Bonaventure" bound for Virginia. He was one of the earliest recorded name bearers to enter America. No less than seven Coats of Arms were granted to families of this name; a particular namebearer mentioned in the Dictionary of National Biography was one Michael Underwood (1737–1820) who practised in London as a surgeon and as a "male-midwife". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Underwode which was dated 1188, in the "Records of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk", during the reign of King Henry II, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189.
Underwood is a British surname.
Underwood may also refer to:
Underwood is a village in the Municipality of Kincardine, Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, located just south of North Bruce on Highway 21.
The hamlet of Underwood was founded in 1856, and among original industry included a shoe shop, harness shop, blacksmith shop, sawmill, grist mill, cheese factory, general store and a post office.
With a population of less than 100, there are few stores in the community, antiques/gift shop, motorcycle shop, hunting/angling supply shop. Underwood also offers a satellite Municipal Administration Centre. Bruce Telecom, formerly Bruce Municipal Telephone System, has been in operation since 1910, offering local telephone, internet and digital cable service to the region, is located just outside Underwood.
Coordinates: 44°18′25″N 81°29′02″W / 44.30682°N 81.48377°W