2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Shearrill
An English surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from Sherrell or a similar location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Shearrill. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shearrill 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Shearrill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shearrill, the largest self-reported group is Black at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shearrill
The surname Shearrill is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the late 16th century. It is thought to be a variation of the more common surname Sherrell, which is derived from the Old English words "scir" meaning "bright" and "hyll" meaning "hill," indicating that the name likely referred to someone who lived on or near a bright or prominent hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shearrill can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Islington, London, where a certain John Shearrill was baptized in 1597. The spelling of the name varied throughout the centuries, with variations such as Shearill, Shearell, and Sherill appearing in various documents.
In the 17th century, the Shearrill family appears to have been concentrated in the southwestern counties of England, particularly Somerset and Dorset. Several members of the family are mentioned in local records and registers from this period, including William Shearrill, who was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, in 1632, and his son, Thomas Shearrill, who was born in the same town in 1668.
One notable individual bearing the Shearrill surname was John Shearrill, a merchant and ship owner from Bristol, who lived from 1710 to 1782. He is recorded as having owned several trading vessels that sailed to the West Indies and the American colonies.
Another individual of note was Elizabeth Shearrill, born in 1785 in Taunton, Somerset. She was a prominent figure in the early women's suffrage movement and was involved in organizing several rallies and protests in support of women's right to vote in the late 19th century.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Shearrill surname began to appear more frequently in records from the northern counties of England, particularly Lancashire and Yorkshire, suggesting that members of the family had migrated to these areas during the Industrial Revolution.
One of the more famous bearers of the Shearrill name was Sir Robert Shearrill, a successful industrialist and philanthropist who lived from 1822 to 1896. He made his fortune in the textile industry in Manchester and was knighted for his charitable work, which included the founding of a hospital and several schools in the city.
While the Shearrill surname may have originated in a specific region of England, it has since spread throughout the country and beyond, with descendants of the family now found in many parts of the world. The name continues to hold a rich history and legacy, reflecting the diverse experiences and contributions of those who have borne it over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shearrill
Among Census respondents with the surname Shearrill, the largest self-reported group is Black at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Shearrill 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 Shearrill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American98.3% · 116
- White0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shearrill
Shearrill appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+16 bearers (+15.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 14,921 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+15.7%) | Up 14,921 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 Shearrill 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 | #158,432 | #143,511 | 9.4% |
| Count | 102 | 118 | 15.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 31.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shearrill bearers went from 102 to 118 (+15.7% change). The surname moved up 14,921 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #143,511.
FAQ
Shearrill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shearrill?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Shearrill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Shearrill?
Shearrill ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Shearrill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Shearrill.
Has Shearrill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shearrill went from 102 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 16 (+15.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Shearrill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shearrill, the largest self-reported group is Black at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shearrill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shearrill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (98.3%), White (0.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Shearrill (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 Shearrill mean?
An English surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from Sherrell or a similar location. 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 Shearrill (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 many Americans have the surname Shearrill?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.