The name Woolner is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is derived from the personal name Ulnod, with Woolnough representing a later spelling form. Ulnod, also recorded as Ulnoth, Wulfnoth and Woolnoth, was a freeman during the reign of Edward the Confessor. Several individuals with this name held land in Suffolk and are recorded in the Suffolk section of the Domesday Book. Over time, these variations of the same name gradually developed into the modern form Woolnough.