2000
#9,163
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,273
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.21
Uncommon Last name
Shaikh
An honorific surname referring to an elder, leader, or one descended from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,357 Americans carry the last name Shaikh. That puts it at #3,832 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,094 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shaikh 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 Shaikh with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 33,094
Census rank
#3,832
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,032 bearers of the surname Shaikh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3832nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shaikh, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shaikh
The surname "SHAIKH" is of Arabic origin and is believed to have originated from the Middle East region during the early Islamic period. It is derived from the Arabic word "shaikh," which translates to "elder" or "chief" and was originally a title given to leaders, scholars, and respected individuals within the Islamic community.
In its earliest form, the surname was likely used to denote the descendants or followers of a particular shaikh or tribal leader. As Islamic civilization spread across various regions, the surname gained popularity and became associated with different ethnic and cultural groups.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname "SHAIKH" can be found in various medieval Islamic manuscripts and chronicles, particularly those documenting the lives of prominent Islamic scholars and leaders.
Notable individuals with the surname "SHAIKH" throughout history include:
1. Sayyid Ahmed Shaikh (1786-1831), a prominent Muslim scholar and revolutionary leader from British India who led an uprising against the East India Company.
2. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958), an Indian scholar, poet, and politician who served as the first Education Minister of independent India.
3. Abu-Ali Hasan ibn al-Haytham, or Alhazen (965-1040), an Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist regarded as the father of modern optics.
4. Abu Bakr al-Shashi (935-1010), an influential Islamic scholar and jurist from Nasaf, modern-day Uzbekistan.
5. Fatima al-Fihri (born around 800 CE), a Muslim woman who founded the first degree-awarding educational institution in the world, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco.
The surname "SHAIKH" has also been associated with various place names and older spellings. For example, the town of Shaikh Khalifa in Bahrain is named after a prominent religious figure, and the area of Shaikh Othman in Aden, Yemen, takes its name from a local shaikh.
While the surname "SHAIKH" has its roots in the Arab world, it has since spread to various regions and is now found among diverse ethnic and cultural groups, particularly in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa, where it has been adopted and assimilated into local cultures and traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaikh
Among Census respondents with the surname Shaikh, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Shaikh 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 Shaikh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.0% · 8,128
- White4.7% · 426
- Two or more races3.1% · 279
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 97
- Black or African American0.8% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shaikh
Shaikh 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
#5,722
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,063
+2,790 bearers (+85.2%)
Per 100,000 2.06
Rank movement Up 3,441 places
2020
#3,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,032
+2,969 bearers (+49.0%)
Per 100,000 3.02
Rank movement Up 1,890 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,163 | 3,273 | 1.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,722 | 6,063 | 2.06 | +2,790 bearers (+85.2%) | Up 3,441 places |
| 2020 | #3,832 | 9,032 | 3.02 | +2,969 bearers (+49.0%) | Up 1,890 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 Shaikh 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 | #5,722 | #3,832 | 33.0% |
| Count | 6,063 | 9,032 | 49.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.06 | 3.02 | 46.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shaikh bearers went from 6,063 to 9,032 (+49.0% change). The surname moved up 1,890 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,722 to #3,832.
FAQ
Shaikh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shaikh?
Name Census estimates that about 10,357 living Americans carry the surname Shaikh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,094 residents.
How common is Shaikh?
Shaikh ranks #3,832 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,032 people with the surname Shaikh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Shaikh.
Has Shaikh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shaikh went from 6,063 recorded bearers to 9,032. That is an increase of 2,969 (+49.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,722 to #3,832.
What does the Census say about the background of Shaikh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shaikh, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shaikh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (8,128 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shaikh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (90.0%), White (4.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Shaikh (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 Shaikh mean?
An honorific surname referring to an elder, leader, or one descended from the Islamic prophet Muhammad. 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 Shaikh (3.02 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 share the surname Shaikh?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.