Historical research reveals that the name, "EASTWOOD" is derived from the Old English words "east" (east) and "wudu" (wood), words which have obviously continued to have the same meaning in our Modern English. The name "Eastwood" dates back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of ancient Great Britain. This Anglo-Saxon surname has survived the rigorous course of history and remains alongside other prominent Anglo family names to the present day.

The surname, Eastwood, appears in numerous manuscripts throughout olden times. It often appears as different spellings, including:  "Estwoud", "Estwude", "Eastwude", or other variations of the two Old English words. These changes in spelling of the surname, Eastwood, appear on many ancient records, often occurring between father and son.  Throughout the 16th century, even educated, literate people (example - William Shakespeare) varied the spellings of surnames, including their own. There are several reasons for the spelling variations. Often, official court languages (Latin and French) influenced how a name was recorded for posterity. In addition, most church officials and scribes generally recorded a name as it was told to them, rather than follow any established or conventional spelling rules. Hence the name's recording was arbitrarily left to whoever was in possession of the pen.

The name is derived from the the family's residence to the east of a wood, or perhaps in an eastern wood. It may also be derived from one of several possible villages in the area named "Eastwood", or the villages could have been named for the growing, prominent family. There definitely were Eastwoods throughout Yorkshire, England and recent research is indicating that they resided in Essex, England as well. Researchers found the first record of the name Eastwood in Cheshire, England, where the family maintained a family seat for centuries.

The historians found that Anglo-Saxon tribes of the era produced many surnames such as Eastwood. These founding cultures settled in England during the 5th century A.D., displacing the ancient Britons who had populated the area throughout the Roman times. The Angles and the Saxons established several independent kingdoms, including  Essex, Northumbria, Kent, Mercia, Wessex, Sussex and East Anglia. The kingdoms collectively became known as the Heptarchy. Eventually, all of these rival kingdoms were unified by Egbert, King of Wessex, during the 9th century.

Emerging from the shadows of time, records reveal the earliest origins of this distinguished family. Historians have researched countless ancient manuscripts including, The Domesday Book compiled in 1086 A.D., by Duke William of Normandy, the Ragman Rolls(1291-1296) collected by King Edward 1st of England, the Curia Regis Rolls, the Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismals, tax records and other ancient documents.