2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Shankster
A surname referring to someone who played pranks or tricks.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Shankster. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shankster 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 Shankster with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Shankster in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shankster, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shankster
The surname Shankster has its origins in the Scottish Lowlands, tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle Scots word "shank," meaning leg or shank, and the occupational suffix "-ster," denoting a person involved in a particular trade or activity. Thus, the name initially referred to someone who worked with shanks or legs, possibly a butcher or tanner.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Burgh Records of Stirling from 1586, where a William Shankster is mentioned as a resident of the town. In the late 16th century, the name also appears in the Parish Registers of Lanarkshire, with entries for the Shankster family in the village of Dalserf.
The Shankster name has a strong connection to the parish of Kilwinning in Ayrshire. In the 17th century, several families bearing this surname resided in the area, including the Shanksters of Auchenharvie. This lineage produced notable individuals like John Shankster (1640-1712), a prominent merchant and landowner who served as a Bailie (magistrate) of Kilwinning.
Another significant figure in the history of the name was Robert Shankster (1720-1795), a renowned mathematician and astronomer from Haddington, East Lothian. Shankster made significant contributions to the calculation of planetary orbits and authored several works on astronomy and mathematics.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name spread to other parts of Scotland and beyond, with Shankster families settling in cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen. One notable bearer was James Shankster (1802-1879), a prominent Glasgow merchant and shipowner who played a crucial role in the city's maritime trade.
The Shankster surname also found its way to England, with records showing families bearing the name in counties like Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Northumberland from the 18th century onwards. Reverend Thomas Shankster (1760-1842), a clergyman and author from Yorkshire, was a distinguished bearer of the name during this period.
While the name has Scottish roots, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, carried by Shankster families who emigrated from the British Isles in search of new opportunities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shankster
Among Census respondents with the surname Shankster, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Shankster 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 Shankster surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 7
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shankster
Shankster 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+3 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,045 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-7 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,191 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 6,045 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 8,191 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 Shankster 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 | #138,304 | #146,495 | -5.9% |
| Count | 121 | 114 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shankster bearers went from 121 to 114 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 8,191 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #146,495.
FAQ
Shankster surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shankster?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Shankster. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Shankster?
Shankster ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Shankster. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Shankster.
Has Shankster become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shankster went from 121 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Shankster?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shankster, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Shankster in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shankster appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (6.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Shankster (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 Shankster mean?
A surname referring to someone who played pranks or tricks. 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 Shankster (0.04 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 Shankster?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Shankster at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.