2000
#1,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,545
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.50
Uncommon Last name
Shearer
An occupational surname referring to one who shears sheep or deals in sheared wool.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,530 Americans carry the last name Shearer. That puts it at #2,070 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,550 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shearer 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 Shearer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,550
Census rank
#2,070
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,031 bearers of the surname Shearer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2070th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shearer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shearer
The surname Shearer originated in England and Scotland during the medieval period. It is an occupational surname derived from the Old English word "scearra" or the Middle English word "sherre," meaning "to cut" or "to shear." The name refers to someone who worked as a shearer, typically shearing sheep or cutting cloth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shearer can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1197, where it appears as "Willelmus le Shearere." This record suggests that the surname was already in use in England by the late 12th century.
In Scotland, the name Shearer is believed to have originated in the Scottish Borders region and the Lowlands. It is documented in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1365, where it appears as "Johannes Sherar." The spelling variations during this period include "Sherar," "Sheirer," and "Sherrare."
Notable historical figures with the surname Shearer include John Shearer (c. 1615-1693), a Scottish covenanter who fought against religious persecution, and Thomas Shearer (1758-1808), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars.
Other notable individuals with this surname are Robert Shearer (1838-1918), a Scottish-American industrialist who co-founded the Deere & Company agricultural machinery company, and Henry Shearer (1850-1922), an Australian politician who served as the Premier of Western Australia from 1904 to 1905.
In the literary world, James Shearer (1828-1865) was a Scottish poet and journalist who published several collections of poems, including "Gleanings from the Poets of Nithsdale" (1855) and "The White Rose and the Red" (1857).
While the surname Shearer is found predominantly in England, Scotland, and countries with significant British immigration, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, it has spread across the globe over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shearer
Among Census respondents with the surname Shearer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Shearer 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 Shearer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 15,156
- Black or African American3.5% · 588
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 565
- Two or more races3.1% · 526
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 136
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shearer
Shearer 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
#2,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,707
+162 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 6.00
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#2,070
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,031
-676 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 5.70
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,878 | 17,545 | 6.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,033 | 17,707 | 6.00 | +162 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #2,070 | 17,031 | 5.70 | -676 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 37 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 Shearer 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 | #2,033 | #2,070 | -1.8% |
| Count | 17,707 | 17,031 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 6.00 | 5.70 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shearer bearers went from 17,707 to 17,031 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,033 to #2,070.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Shearer
FAQ
Shearer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shearer?
Name Census estimates that about 19,530 living Americans carry the surname Shearer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,550 residents.
How common is Shearer?
Shearer ranks #2,070 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,031 people with the surname Shearer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,530), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Shearer.
Has Shearer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shearer went from 17,707 recorded bearers to 17,031. That is a decrease of 676 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,033 to #2,070.
What does the Census say about the background of Shearer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shearer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Shearer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (15,156 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shearer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Black (3.5%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Shearer (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 Shearer mean?
An occupational surname referring to one who shears sheep or deals in sheared wool. 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 Shearer (5.70 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 Shearer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.