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.
Antony Underwood, Australian scientist
April Underwood, Tech investor
Barbara D. Underwood (born 1944), American lawyer
Blair Underwood (born 1964), American actor
Brittany Underwood (born 1988), American actress
Carrie Underwood (born 1983), American singer and winner of the American Idol TV series in 2005
Cecil H. Underwood (1922–2008), American politician
Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness (c. 1785–1873), British peer
Charles Underwood (1791–1883), English architect
Derek Underwood (born 1945), English cricketer
Dimitrius Underwood (born 1977), American football defensive end
Duane Underwood, baseball player
E. J. Underwood (born 1983), American football cornerback
Edmund Underwood (182?-1863), U. S. Army officer 1848-1863
Edmund Beardsley Underwood (1853–1928), American naval officer, son of Edmund Underwood
Edna W. Underwood (1873–1961), American author, poet, and translator
Elizabeth Underwood (c. 1794–1858), Australian land owner
Eric Underwood (1905–1980), Australian scientist
Francis Henry Underwood (1825–1894), American biographer and diplomat
Frank Underwood (House of Cards), fictional American politician
Frank Underwood (English musician)
Franklin Underwood, American musical theatre composer
Fred Underwood (1868–1906), American baseball pitcher
George Underwood (athlete) (1884–1943), American track and field athlete
George Allen Underwood (1793–1829), English architect
George V. Underwood, Jr. (1913–1984), American army general
Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890–1960), American architect
Gordon Waite Underwood (1932–1978), American naval officer
Grant Underwood (born 1954), American Mormon historian
Henry Underwood (1863–1945), Australian politician
Henry Underwood (architect) (1787–1868), English architect
Henry Jones Underwood (1804–1852), English architect
Horace Grant Underwood (1859–1916), American missionary and founder of Yonsei University in Korea
Ian Underwood (born 1939), musician
James Underwood (born 1942), British pathologist
Jay Underwood (born 1968), American actor
Jim Underwood, American management professor
Jim Underwood (Guam politician), American politician
John Underwood (PR adviser), British public relation adviser
John C. Underwood (1840–1913), American politician and judge
John Curtiss Underwood (1809–1873), American politician
John Thomas Underwood (1857–1937), founder of the Underwood Typewriter Company
John W. H. Underwood (1816–1888), American politician
Joseph Edwin Underwood (1882-1960), Canadian engineer
Joseph R. Underwood (1791–1876), American politician
Julie K. Underwood, American academic
Katie Underwood (born 1975), Australian singer-songwriter
Kevin Ray Underwood (born 1979), American murder convict
Kianna Underwood (born 1992), child actress
Lake Underwood (born 1926), American race car driver
Larry Underwood (born 1966), American actor
Lee Underwood (born 1938), American musician
Leon Underwood (1890–1975), British artist
Loyal Underwood (1893–1966), American actor
Lucien Marcus Underwood (1853–1907), American botanist and mycologist
Marviel Underwood (born 1982), American football safety
Matt Underwood (born 1968), American sports announcer
Matthew Underwood (born 1990), American actor
Mell G. Underwood (1892–1972), American politician
Michael Underwood (born 1975), British television presenter
Mick Underwood (born 1975), British drummer
Olen Underwood (born 1942), American football player and judge
Oscar Underwood (1862–1929), American politician
Paul Underwood (born 1973), English footballer
Peter Underwood (1937-2014), Australian judge and government official
Peter Underwood (parapsychologist) (1923–2014), English author, broadcaster and paranormalist
Robert A. Underwood (born 1948), American politician from Guam
Robert C. Underwood (1915-1988), American jurist from Illinois
Ron Underwood (born 1953), American film director
Ron Underwood (musician)
Rory Underwood (born 1963), English rugby union player
Ruth Underwood (born 1946), American musician
Sam Underwood (born 1987), American actor
Sara Jean Underwood (born 1984), American model, actress, and Playboy Playmate
Scott Underwood, American drummer
Sheryl Underwood (born 1963), American comedian
Thomas Underwood (1863–1948), Canadian politician
Thomas R. Underwood (1898–1956), American politician
Tiquan Underwood (born 1987), American football wide receiver
Tom Underwood (born 1953), American baseball pitcher
Tony Underwood (born 1969), English rugby union player
Warner Underwood (1808–1872), American politician
Wayne Underwood (1913–1967), American football player
Wilbur Underwood (1874–1935), American poet
William D. Underwood, American university president
William Lyman Underwood (1864–1929), American photographer
Underwood Dudley, American mathematician
