2000
#8,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,747
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.39
Rare Last name
Shutt
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of wooden window coverings or doors.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,816 Americans carry the last name Shutt. That puts it at #9,377 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,820 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shutt 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 Shutt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 89,820
Census rank
#9,377
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,328 bearers of the surname Shutt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9377th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shutt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shutt
The surname Shutt is of English origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "scytt" or "shytt," which referred to a small opening or gap. This could suggest that the name may have originally been used as a descriptive term for someone who lived near a narrow pass or gap between hills or mountains.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shutt can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, where it appears as "Shytt." The variant spelling "Shutt" is also found in the Parish Registers of Weston, Yorkshire, from the late 16th century.
While there are no known direct references to the surname Shutt in major historical records such as the Domesday Book, it is possible that the name may have originated from a place name that no longer exists or has evolved over time.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Shutt was John Shutt, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, around 1560. He was a prominent farmer and landowner in the region during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Another notable figure with the surname Shutt was William Shutt, a merchant and trader who lived in London during the 17th century. He was involved in the lucrative trade with the East Indies and is mentioned in several records related to the East India Company from the 1640s to 1660s.
In the 18th century, James Shutt, born in 1712 in Yorkshire, was a respected clockmaker and inventor. He is credited with developing an innovative striking mechanism for clocks, which was widely adopted by other clockmakers of the time.
Moving into the 19th century, Elizabeth Shutt (1790-1867), born in Derbyshire, was a renowned author and poet. She published several collections of poetry and was widely acclaimed for her descriptive and emotive writing style.
Finally, one of the more recent notable individuals with the surname Shutt was George Shutt (1876-1955), a British architect who was responsible for designing several iconic buildings in London, including the Piccadilly Theatre and the Grosvenor House Hotel.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shutt
Among Census respondents with the surname Shutt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Shutt 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 Shutt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 3,093
- Two or more races2.7% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- Black or African American0.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shutt
Shutt 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
#8,551
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,852
+105 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 404 places
2020
#9,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,328
-524 bearers (-13.6%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 826 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,147 | 3,747 | 1.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,551 | 3,852 | 1.31 | +105 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 404 places |
| 2020 | #9,377 | 3,328 | 1.11 | -524 bearers (-13.6%) | Down 826 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 Shutt 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 | #8,551 | #9,377 | -9.7% |
| Count | 3,852 | 3,328 | -13.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.11 | -15.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shutt bearers went from 3,852 to 3,328 (-13.6% change). The surname moved down 826 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,551 to #9,377.
FAQ
Shutt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shutt?
Name Census estimates that about 3,816 living Americans carry the surname Shutt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,820 residents.
How common is Shutt?
Shutt ranks #9,377 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.11 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 3,328 people with the surname Shutt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,816), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.11 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 Shutt.
Has Shutt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shutt went from 3,852 recorded bearers to 3,328. That is a decrease of 524 (-13.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,551 to #9,377.
What does the Census say about the background of Shutt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shutt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Shutt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (3,093 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shutt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Shutt (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 Shutt mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of wooden window coverings or doors. 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 Shutt (1.11 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 many people have the surname Shutt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.