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

Redshirt, 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 Redshirt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Redshirt in America

Redshirt is the 138304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Redshirt surname appeared 121 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 Redshirt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Redshirt 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 Redshirt

The surname REDSHIRT is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be an occupational name, referring to someone who wore a red shirt or tunic as part of their profession or trade.

The name may have derived from the Old English words "read" meaning red, and "scyrte" meaning shirt or tunic. It is also possible that the name came from a place name containing these elements, such as Redshirt Hill or Redshirt Village.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname REDSHIRT can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a John Redshert. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 also list a William Redshurte.

During the 14th century, the name appears to have been concentrated in the English counties of Cambridgeshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. This suggests that the name may have originated in one of these regions or nearby areas.

Notable individuals with the surname REDSHIRT throughout history include:

• Sir John Redshirt (c. 1420-1492), an English knight and landowner from Gloucestershire.
• Thomas Redshirt (c. 1550-1621), an English merchant and alderman in the City of London.
• Elizabeth Redshirt (c. 1635-1707), a Puritan author and poet from Cambridgeshire.
• William Redshirt (1745-1823), a British soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War.
• Mary Redshirt (1817-1891), an English philanthropist and social reformer from Worcestershire.

Variations in spelling over time include Redshert, Redshurte, Redshyrt, and Redshurte. Some of these spellings may have been influenced by the pronunciation of the name in different regional dialects of English.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Redshirt

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

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 Redshirt 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 Redshirt 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 Redshirt was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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