2000
#2,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,436
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.24
Uncommon Last name
Shanks
An English surname referring to someone with long legs or an uneven gait.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,067 Americans carry the last name Shanks. That puts it at #3,075 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,231 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shanks 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 Shanks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,231
Census rank
#3,075
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,395 bearers of the surname Shanks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3075th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shanks, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shanks
The surname "SHANKS" is believed to have originated in Scotland, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "shank," which referred to a leg or the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname "SHANKS" can be found in medieval Scottish records and documents. One notable example is the mention of a "John Shanks" in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the year 1327.
In some cases, the surname "SHANKS" may have originated as a descriptive nickname, referring to a person with particularly notable or distinctive legs or calves. It could also have been an occupational name for someone who worked with or made leg coverings or armor.
The surname "SHANKS" is also associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Shankston and Shanks Glen. These place names likely originated from individuals or families bearing the surname "SHANKS" who lived in or owned land in those areas.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname "SHANKS" was Sir John Shanks, a Scottish knight who lived in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Robert Shanks, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, who was active in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the surname "SHANKS" gained prominence with the birth of Sir Michael Shanks (1601-1679), a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland.
Another individual of historical significance was John Gaspard Shanks (1764-1842), a British mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the calculation of pi and other mathematical constants.
In the 19th century, the name "SHANKS" was carried by John James Shanks (1820-1869), an Irish-born Australian explorer and surveyor who played a key role in the exploration and mapping of Western Australia.
One final notable individual with the surname "SHANKS" was Sir Michael Shanks (1896-1971), a British Army officer who served with distinction during World War I and World War II, receiving numerous military honors and decorations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shanks
Among Census respondents with the surname Shanks, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shanks 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 Shanks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.1% · 8,447
- Black or African American16.3% · 1,860
- Two or more races4.4% · 503
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 387
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 88
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shanks
Shanks 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
#3,031
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,822
+386 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 4.01
Rank movement Down 150 places
2020
#3,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,395
-427 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.81
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,881 | 11,436 | 4.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,031 | 11,822 | 4.01 | +386 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 150 places |
| 2020 | #3,075 | 11,395 | 3.81 | -427 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 44 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 Shanks 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 | #3,031 | #3,075 | -1.5% |
| Count | 11,822 | 11,395 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 4.01 | 3.81 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shanks bearers went from 11,822 to 11,395 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,031 to #3,075.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Shanks
FAQ
Shanks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shanks?
Name Census estimates that about 13,067 living Americans carry the surname Shanks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,231 residents.
How common is Shanks?
Shanks ranks #3,075 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.81 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 11,395 people with the surname Shanks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,067), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.81 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 Shanks.
Has Shanks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shanks went from 11,822 recorded bearers to 11,395. That is a decrease of 427 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,031 to #3,075.
What does the Census say about the background of Shanks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shanks, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (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 Shanks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (8,447 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shanks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.1%), Black (16.3%), Two or More Races (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 Shanks (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 Shanks mean?
An English surname referring to someone with long legs or an uneven gait. 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 Shanks (3.81 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 many people have the surname Shanks?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.