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

Shamir, 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 Shamir surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shamir in America

Shamir is the 86981st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shamir surname appeared 214 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 Shamir.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shamir 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 Shamir

The surname SHAMIR is of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew word "shamir" meaning "flint" or "diamond." It is believed to have originated in ancient Israel, possibly during the biblical period.

The earliest recorded instances of the SHAMIR surname can be traced back to the 12th century, found in Jewish communities across the Middle East and North Africa. One notable early mention is in the Cairo Geniza, a collection of Jewish manuscripts discovered in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt.

In the 13th century, the SHAMIR surname appeared in various European records, indicating the spread of Jewish communities across the continent. One such record is theMemorbuch, a memorial book from the city of Nuremberg, Germany, which lists individuals with the surname SHAMIR.

During the Middle Ages, the SHAMIR surname was often associated with Jewish scholars and rabbis. One prominent figure was Rabbi Moses ben Shem Tov SHAMIR, a 14th-century Spanish philosopher and commentator on the works of Maimonides.

As Jewish communities migrated across Europe and beyond, the SHAMIR surname became more widespread. In the 16th century, SHAMIR families were recorded in Poland, where they played a significant role in the development of Jewish culture and scholarship.

Notable individuals with the SHAMIR surname include Yitzhak SHAMIR (1915-2012), an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992. Another prominent figure was Shlomo SHAMIR (1915-2009), an Israeli mathematician and computer scientist known for his contributions to the field of cryptography.

In the 19th century, the SHAMIR surname was found among Jewish communities in the Russian Empire. One notable bearer was Zalman SHAMIR (1844-1915), a Russian-born Hebrew writer and educator who played a significant role in the revival of the Hebrew language.

Over time, the SHAMIR surname has spread to various parts of the world, carried by Jewish communities and individuals who migrated or immigrated to different countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shamir

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!