2000
#990
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,069
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.89
Uncommon Last name
Shea
A surname of Irish origin meaning "the stately, dauntless one," derived from the Gaelic name Séaghdha.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 36,507 Americans carry the last name Shea. That puts it at #1,081 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,389 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shea surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Shea with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
37K
1 in 9,389
Census rank
#1,081
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
32K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,836 bearers of the surname Shea in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1081st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shea, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shea
The surname SHEA originated from Ireland, deriving its roots from the Gaelic words "O Siodhachain" which means "descendent of Siodhacha". Siodhacha was the name of an Irish clan located in County Longford. The name first appears in historical records dating back to the 12th century.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters in 1171, referring to "Fiacha O'Shee", a member of the clan. Over time, variations in spelling emerged, including O'Shea, O'Shee, and Shea. The surname eventually lost the prefix "O" and became simply Shea.
In the 16th century, the Shea clan played a prominent role in the Desmond Rebellions against the English crown. One notable figure was Sir Richard Shea, who fought alongside the Earl of Desmond in the 1580s. Despite their defeat, the Shea family remained influential in County Longford and surrounding areas.
The name Shea also has connections to various place names in Ireland, such as Sheamore in County Longford and Sheaghmore in County Galway. These place names likely derived from the surname itself or from individuals bearing the name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Shea. One example is Sir John Shea (1645-1718), an Irish military officer who served in the Jacobite Army during the Williamite War in Ireland. Another is Sir Robert Shea (1773-1853), an Irish-born American politician who served as the 16th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1848 to 1852.
Other notable individuals include John Augustus Shea (1824-1892), an American historian and writer who specialized in the history of the Catholic Church in America, and Sir Haisten Reid Shea (1904-1987), a British businessman and industrialist who was knighted for his contributions to the coal industry.
More recently, John Shea (born 1949) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Gossip" and "The Karate Kid". Sir Michael Shea (1938-2009) was a British judge who served as the Lord Justice of Appeal from 1998 to 2007.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shea
Among Census respondents with the surname Shea, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shea bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Shea surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 29,171
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,129
- Two or more races2.4% · 755
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 515
- Black or African American0.6% · 194
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 72
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shea
Shea appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,329
+1,260 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 11.30
Rank movement Down 58 places
2020
#1,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,836
-1,493 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 10.65
Rank movement Down 33 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #990 | 32,069 | 11.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,048 | 33,329 | 11.30 | +1,260 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 58 places |
| 2020 | #1,081 | 31,836 | 10.65 | -1,493 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 33 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Shea surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,048 | #1,081 | -3.1% |
| Count | 33,329 | 31,836 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 11.30 | 10.65 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shea bearers went from 33,329 to 31,836 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 33 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,048 to #1,081.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Shea
FAQ
Shea surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shea?
Name Census estimates that about 36,507 living Americans carry the surname Shea. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,389 residents.
How common is Shea?
Shea ranks #1,081 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,836 people with the surname Shea. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (36,507), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Shea.
Has Shea become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shea went from 33,329 recorded bearers to 31,836. That is a decrease of 1,493 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,048 to #1,081.
What does the Census say about the background of Shea?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shea, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (29,171 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shea appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Shea (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Shea mean?
A surname of Irish origin meaning "the stately, dauntless one," derived from the Gaelic name Séaghdha. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Shea (10.65 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Shea?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Shea, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.