2000
#22,098
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,092
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.40
Rare Last name
Shire
A surname referring to an inhabitant or dweller of a shire (county or rural district).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,737 Americans carry the last name Shire. That puts it at #18,123 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 197,325 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shire 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 Shire with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.7K
1 in 197,325
Census rank
#18,123
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,515 bearers of the surname Shire in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18123rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shire, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (42.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shire
The surname Shire originated in England and is derived from the Old English word "scir," meaning a division of land or a county. This name is likely to have originated as a place name, referring to someone who lived near or came from a particular shire or county.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Shire can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and wealth in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Scir" and "Schir," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling during that time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Shire was Robert de Schir, who lived in Lincolnshire, England, in the 12th century. Another notable figure was William Shire, who served as the Mayor of London in 1424.
In the 16th century, the surname Shire was prominent in Northamptonshire, where families like the Shires of Upton and the Shires of Collingtree held significant landholdings. Sir John Shire (1532-1588) was a notable member of this family and served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
The surname Shire also has connections to various place names in England, such as Shire Green in Hertfordshire and Shire Newton in Cheshire. These place names likely originated from the same Old English word "scir," indicating that the name was derived from a geographical location.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Shire, including:
1. Sir John Shire (1532-1588), mentioned earlier, a Member of Parliament and landowner in Northamptonshire.
2. John Shire (1590-1658), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Provost of King's College, Cambridge.
3. Talisker Shire (1857-1920), a British explorer and adventurer known for his expeditions to Africa and Asia.
4. Violet Shire (1892-1976), a British novelist and playwright who wrote several popular novels in the early 20th century.
5. Geoffrey Shire (1935-2022), a renowned English architect and urban planner who made significant contributions to the design of modern cities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shire
Among Census respondents with the surname Shire, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (42.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Shire 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 Shire surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.6% · 782
- Black or African American42.0% · 636
- Two or more races3.6% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shire
Shire 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
#17,239
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,643
+551 bearers (+50.5%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Up 4,859 places
2020
#18,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,515
-128 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.51
Rank movement Down 884 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,098 | 1,092 | 0.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,239 | 1,643 | 0.56 | +551 bearers (+50.5%) | Up 4,859 places |
| 2020 | #18,123 | 1,515 | 0.51 | -128 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 884 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 Shire 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 | #17,239 | #18,123 | -5.1% |
| Count | 1,643 | 1,515 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.56 | 0.51 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shire bearers went from 1,643 to 1,515 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 884 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,239 to #18,123.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Shire
FAQ
Shire surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shire?
Name Census estimates that about 1,737 living Americans carry the surname Shire. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 197,325 residents.
How common is Shire?
Shire ranks #18,123 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,515 people with the surname Shire. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,737), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Shire.
Has Shire become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shire went from 1,643 recorded bearers to 1,515. That is a decrease of 128 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,239 to #18,123.
What does the Census say about the background of Shire?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shire, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (42.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Shire in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (782 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shire appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.6%), Black (42.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Shire (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 Shire mean?
A surname referring to an inhabitant or dweller of a shire (county or rural district). 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 Shire (0.51 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 Shire?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Shire, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.