Recorded as Linwood, Lingwood, Lynwood and possibly others, this is an Anglo-Scottish surname. It is locational from any or all of the various places called Linwood in Hampshire and LIncolnshire, England, Linwood near Paisley, in Scotland, or Lingwood a parish in the the English county of Norfolk. All have the same meaning of 'The wood of lime trees'. Locational surnames are usually 'from' names. That is to say names given to people after they left their original homesteads, to travel somewhere else often in search of work. In so doing they took or were given as their surname, the name of the place from whence they came. In this case John de Lyngwood was recorded in the city of Norwich in the tax registers known as 'The Feet of Fines' for the year 1294. It is assumed that he came from Lingwood in Norfolk, but Linwood in Lincolnshire is equally possible given that at best spelling was indifferent to for mopst people, non existent.