Find out how popular the last name Belshaw is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Belshaw.

Belshaw, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Belshaw surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Belshaw in America

Belshaw is the 60505th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Belshaw surname appeared 333 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Belshaw.

We can also compare 2010 data for Belshaw to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Belshaw

The surname BELSHAW is of English origin, hailing from the historic county of Lancashire in the north-west of England. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "bel" meaning "bell" and "sceaga" meaning "small wood or copse", suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a bell-shaped copse or wooded area.

Records indicate that the earliest known spelling of the surname dates back to the 13th century, appearing as "de Belshag" in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246. This early form of the name suggests a connection to a specific place, possibly a hamlet or village named Belshaw.

The BELSHAW surname is not found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England at the time of the Norman Conquest. However, its absence from this historic record does not necessarily indicate a later origin, as many surnames were yet to be adopted or recorded during that period.

One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the BELSHAW name was John Belshaw, who was mentioned in the Lancashire Wills records in 1554. Another early mention is that of Margarett Belshaw, whose marriage to John Blakey was recorded in the parish registers of Whalley, Lancashire in 1598.

Notably, the BELSHAW surname has been associated with the village of Belshaw, located in the Rossendale Valley of Lancashire. This place-name connection further reinforces the geographic origins of the surname.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the BELSHAW surname, including:

1. John Belshaw (1763-1844), a British architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in Lancashire and Yorkshire.
2. Samuel Belshaw (1811-1891), an English landscape painter known for his depictions of rural scenes in northern England.
3. James Belshaw (1819-1892), a British politician and industrialist who served as a Member of Parliament for Oldham from 1865 to 1880.
4. Cyril Belshaw (1909-1988), a renowned social anthropologist and academic who studied Pacific Island cultures and societies.
5. Dennis Belshaw (1939-2021), a British actor and playwright best known for his roles in television series such as "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale Farm".

While the BELSHAW surname has its roots in the historic county of Lancashire, it has since spread to other parts of England and beyond, with families bearing this name found in various regions and countries around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Belshaw

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Belshaw.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Belshaw was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Belshaw has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Belshaw was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Belshaw, please contact us.

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