2000
#2,539
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,070
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.85
Uncommon Last name
Shank
An occupational surname referring to someone who made shingles or worked as a shingler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,127 Americans carry the last name Shank. That puts it at #2,851 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shank 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.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,262
Census rank
#2,851
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,319 bearers of the surname Shank in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2851st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shank, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shank
The surname Shank is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English word "scanc" or "scanca", which means "leg" or "shank". The name first appeared in England during the early medieval period, around the 7th or 8th century AD.
The earliest known bearers of the Shank surname were likely concentrated in the northern and midland counties of England, where Anglo-Saxon settlements were prevalent. The name may have originated as a nickname, referring to a person with particularly long or slender legs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Shank surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Schanc" and "Scancus". This suggests that the name was well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Schank" in the Curia Regis Rolls of Worcestershire. This spelling variation highlights the evolving nature of surnames during the Middle Ages, as they transitioned from descriptive nicknames to hereditary family names.
Notable historical figures bearing the Shank surname include:
1. John Shank (c. 1545 - 1608), an English Catholic martyr who was executed for his faith during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. Benjamin Shank (1734 - 1801), an American frontier settler and founder of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
3. David Shank (1801 - 1859), an American bishop and leader in the River Brethren Church.
4. Ephraim Shank (1805 - 1881), an American bishop of the Old Order River Brethren.
5. Samuel Shank (1856 - 1924), a British politician and Member of Parliament for Leeds North East from 1906 to 1918.
The Shank surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Shankill in Ireland and Shankton in Scotland, which may have influenced the development and spread of the name in those regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shank
Among Census respondents with the surname Shank, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Shank 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 Shank surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 11,218
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 371
- Two or more races2.8% · 344
- Black or African American2.2% · 268
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shank
Shank 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
#2,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,343
+273 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 4.52
Rank movement Down 161 places
2020
#2,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,319
-1,024 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 4.12
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,539 | 13,070 | 4.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,700 | 13,343 | 4.52 | +273 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 161 places |
| 2020 | #2,851 | 12,319 | 4.12 | -1,024 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 151 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 Shank 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 | #2,700 | #2,851 | -5.6% |
| Count | 13,343 | 12,319 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.52 | 4.12 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shank bearers went from 13,343 to 12,319 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,700 to #2,851.
FAQ
Shank surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shank?
Name Census estimates that about 14,127 living Americans carry the surname Shank. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,262 residents.
How common is Shank?
Shank ranks #2,851 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,319 people with the surname Shank. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Shank.
Has Shank become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shank went from 13,343 recorded bearers to 12,319. That is a decrease of 1,024 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,700 to #2,851.
What does the Census say about the background of Shank?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shank, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Shank in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (11,218 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shank appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Shank (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 Shank mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made shingles or worked as a shingler. 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 Shank (4.12 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 Shank?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Shank is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.