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

Shawgo, 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 Shawgo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shawgo in America

Shawgo is the 44500th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shawgo surname appeared 483 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Shawgo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shawgo 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 Shawgo

The surname Shawgo has its origins in the Gaelic language and is believed to have emerged in the Scottish Highlands during the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Gaelic words "seabhag," meaning "hawk," and "òg," meaning "young." This suggests that the name may have been a descriptive nickname initially given to someone with hawk-like characteristics or associated with falconry.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of instruments documenting the homage paid to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners. The name appears as "Shawgow," which likely reflects the local pronunciation at the time.

In the 16th century, the Shawgo family was known to have resided in the area around Inverness, a city in the Scottish Highlands. Historical records from this period mention a John Shawgo, who was born in 1532 and served as a local chieftain.

The name has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Shawgill in Dumfriesshire and Shawgo in Aberdeenshire. These locations may have been named after early bearers of the surname or derived from the Gaelic words that formed the basis of the name.

One notable figure with the Shawgo surname was William Shawgo, a Scottish poet and playwright born in 1715 in Aberdeen. He is best known for his satirical works that criticized the social and political climate of his time.

Another prominent individual was Robert Shawgo, a military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Born in 1745 in Edinburgh, he served as a captain in the British Army and later settled in Virginia after the war, where he became a successful plantation owner.

In the 19th century, the Shawgo family gained recognition through the efforts of James Shawgo, an influential businessman and philanthropist. Born in 1825 in Glasgow, he made his fortune in the textile industry and used his wealth to support various charitable causes, including the establishment of a hospital in his hometown.

As the Shawgo surname spread beyond Scotland, it encountered variations in spelling, such as Shaugo, Shawgow, and Shawgoe. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and the challenges of accurately transcribing the name from its Gaelic origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shawgo

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!