2000
#4,637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,991
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.59
Rare Last name
Shane
An Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Seachnasaigh, meaning "descendant of Seachnasach," a personal name meaning "wary" or "vigilant."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,638 Americans carry the last name Shane. That puts it at #5,101 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,875 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shane 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 Shane with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 44,875
Census rank
#5,101
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,661 bearers of the surname Shane in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5101st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shane, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shane
Among Census respondents with the surname Shane, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shane 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 Shane surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.6% · 5,569
- Black or African American5.1% · 337
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 292
- Two or more races4.2% · 280
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 89
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shane
Shane 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
#4,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,372
+381 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.50
Rank movement Down 159 places
2020
#5,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,661
-711 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 305 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,637 | 6,991 | 2.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,796 | 7,372 | 2.50 | +381 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 159 places |
| 2020 | #5,101 | 6,661 | 2.23 | -711 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 305 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 Shane 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 | #4,796 | #5,101 | -6.4% |
| Count | 7,372 | 6,661 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.50 | 2.23 | -10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shane bearers went from 7,372 to 6,661 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 305 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,796 to #5,101.
FAQ
Shane surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shane?
Name Census estimates that about 7,638 living Americans carry the surname Shane. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,875 residents.
How common is Shane?
Shane ranks #5,101 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,661 people with the surname Shane. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,638), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Shane.
Has Shane become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shane went from 7,372 recorded bearers to 6,661. That is a decrease of 711 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,796 to #5,101.
What does the Census say about the background of Shane?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shane, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Shane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.6% (5,569 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shane appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.6%), Black (5.1%), Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Shane (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 Shane mean?
An Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Seachnasaigh, meaning "descendant of Seachnasach," a personal name meaning "wary" or "vigilant." 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 Shane (2.23 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 Shane?
Want to know how many people have the last name Shane? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.