2000
#12,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,198
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Shain
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German word "schön," meaning "beautiful," referring to a creator of beautiful objects.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,440 Americans carry the last name Shain. That puts it at #13,630 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shain 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 Shain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 140,473
Census rank
#13,630
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,128 bearers of the surname Shain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13630th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shain, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shain
The surname SHAIN has its origins in the German language, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century in the region of Bavaria. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "schein," which translates to "bright" or "shining," suggesting that the name may have initially been a descriptive term referring to someone with a radiant or luminous appearance.
One of the earliest known records of the SHAIN surname can be found in the Bavarian town of Nuremberg, where a merchant named Hans Shain was documented in the city's archives in the year 1547. This entry provides valuable insight into the name's prevalence in the region during the Renaissance period.
In the 17th century, the SHAIN surname made its way into various historical records, including church registers and legal documents. Notably, a farmer named Johann Shain was mentioned in a land dispute in the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1628, shedding light on the name's presence in rural communities during that era.
As the name continued to spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling began to emerge, such as Schein, Schaine, and Schayn. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and linguistic differences.
One notable figure bearing the SHAIN surname was Friedrich Shain, a philosopher and educator born in Würzburg in 1792. His contributions to the field of education and his published works on ethics and moral philosophy have left a lasting impact on German intellectual thought.
Another prominent individual was Karl Shain, a German artist and painter who lived from 1845 to 1910. His masterful landscapes and portraits garnered widespread acclaim, and his works can be found in various museums and private collections throughout Europe.
In the 20th century, the SHAIN surname gained international recognition through the achievements of Hans Shain, a renowned German-American engineer and inventor who played a pivotal role in the development of rocket technology. Born in 1892 in Munich, his innovative work with liquid-fueled rockets and contributions to the field of aeronautics have left an indelible mark on the history of space exploration.
While the SHAIN surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and the dispersal of families over the centuries. Today, the name can be found in numerous countries, reflecting the rich cultural diversity and global reach of its bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shain
Among Census respondents with the surname Shain, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Shain 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 Shain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,973
- Two or more races2.6% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 27
- Black or African American0.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shain
Shain 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
#12,510
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,478
+280 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 329 places
2020
#13,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,128
-350 bearers (-14.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 1,120 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,839 | 2,198 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,510 | 2,478 | 0.84 | +280 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 329 places |
| 2020 | #13,630 | 2,128 | 0.71 | -350 bearers (-14.1%) | Down 1,120 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 Shain 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 | #12,510 | #13,630 | -9.0% |
| Count | 2,478 | 2,128 | -14.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.71 | -15.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shain bearers went from 2,478 to 2,128 (-14.1% change). The surname moved down 1,120 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,510 to #13,630.
FAQ
Shain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shain?
Name Census estimates that about 2,440 living Americans carry the surname Shain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,473 residents.
How common is Shain?
Shain ranks #13,630 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,128 people with the surname Shain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,440), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Shain.
Has Shain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shain went from 2,478 recorded bearers to 2,128. That is a decrease of 350 (-14.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,510 to #13,630.
What does the Census say about the background of Shain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shain, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) 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 Shain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,973 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%), 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 Shain (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 Shain mean?
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German word "schön," meaning "beautiful," referring to a creator of beautiful objects. 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 Shain (0.71 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 Shain?
See how many people have the surname Shain on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.