2000
#6,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,819
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.79
Rare Last name
Kershaw
From the Old English elements "cēo," meaning cow, and "sceaga," meaning wood, likely referring to a pasture for cattle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,396 Americans carry the last name Kershaw. That puts it at #6,879 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,520 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kershaw 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 Kershaw with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 63,520
Census rank
#6,879
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,706 bearers of the surname Kershaw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6879th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kershaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kershaw
The surname Kershaw is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "cyre" meaning a turning or winding and "sceaga" meaning a small wood or grove. It is a locational surname, indicating that the first bearers of the name hailed from a place called Kershaw, likely a winding grove or a settlement near a winding wood.
The name is believed to have originated in the county of Lancashire, where several places bear the name Kershaw or variations thereof, such as Kershaw Moor and Kershaw House. The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the late 12th century, appearing as "de Kershawe" in the Lancashire Pipe Rolls of 1194.
Kershaw is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, a historical manuscript commissioned by William the Conqueror, which documented the landholdings and estates across much of England and parts of Wales. This suggests that the name has its roots in the medieval era, potentially even before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Kershaw was William de Kershaw, who was listed in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire in 1246. Another early bearer of the name was John de Kereshawe, whose name appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Kershaw, including:
1. John Kershaw (1616-1690), an English Puritan minister and author.
2. James Kershaw (1789-1847), a British civil engineer and inventor of the first practical hand-operated mule spinning machine.
3. Mark Kershaw (1829-1900), a British painter and etcher known for his landscapes and architectural scenes.
4. Joseph Kershaw (1851-1937), an English cricketer who played for Lancashire and England in the late 19th century.
5. Alister Kershaw (1921-2008), a British diplomat and Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1982.
The surname Kershaw has maintained a strong presence in Lancashire and other parts of northern England, with various places and landmarks bearing the name, further solidifying its historical roots in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kershaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Kershaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kershaw 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 Kershaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 3,391
- Black or African American19.1% · 898
- Two or more races4.5% · 210
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 153
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kershaw
Kershaw 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
#6,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,109
+290 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Down 134 places
2020
#6,879
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,706
-403 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Down 249 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,496 | 4,819 | 1.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,630 | 5,109 | 1.73 | +290 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 134 places |
| 2020 | #6,879 | 4,706 | 1.57 | -403 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 249 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 Kershaw 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 | #6,630 | #6,879 | -3.8% |
| Count | 5,109 | 4,706 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.73 | 1.57 | -9.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kershaw bearers went from 5,109 to 4,706 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 249 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,630 to #6,879.
FAQ
Kershaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kershaw?
Name Census estimates that about 5,396 living Americans carry the surname Kershaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,520 residents.
How common is Kershaw?
Kershaw ranks #6,879 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,706 people with the surname Kershaw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,396), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kershaw.
Has Kershaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kershaw went from 5,109 recorded bearers to 4,706. That is a decrease of 403 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,630 to #6,879.
What does the Census say about the background of Kershaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kershaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Kershaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (3,391 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kershaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Black (19.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Kershaw (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 Kershaw mean?
From the Old English elements "cēo," meaning cow, and "sceaga," meaning wood, likely referring to a pasture for cattle. 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 Kershaw (1.57 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 Kershaw?
Want to know how many people have the surname Kershaw? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.