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

Shane, 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 Shane surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shane in America

Shane is the 4796th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shane surname appeared 7,372 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Shane.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shane 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 Shane

The surname Shane has its origins in Ireland, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old Irish personal name Seán, which is itself a form of the ancient name John. The name Shane is an Anglicized spelling of this Irish name.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Shane dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. One notable early bearer of the name was Shane O'Neill, also known as Shane the Proud, who lived from around 1530 to 1567 and was an Irish chieftain of the O'Neill dynasty in Ulster.

In the 16th century, the name Shane was found in various parts of Ireland, particularly in counties such as Antrim, Down, and Tyrone. It was often associated with the Irish clans and families of O'Neill, O'Shane, and McShane.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Shane began to spread more widely throughout Ireland and beyond. One notable figure from this period was John Shane, an Irish-born author and educator who lived from 1753 to 1834 and wrote several books on mathematics and philosophy.

In the 19th century, the surname Shane was carried by Irish immigrants to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. One prominent individual with this name was Joseph Shane, an American politician and lawyer who lived from 1835 to 1901 and served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Other notable individuals with the surname Shane include Walter Shane, an Irish-born American actor who lived from 1901 to 1970 and appeared in numerous films and television shows, and William Shane, an American author and journalist who lived from 1919 to 1994 and wrote several books on various subjects, including crime and politics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shane

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

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

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

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