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

Shears, 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 Shears surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shears in America

Shears is the 8596th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shears surname appeared 3,831 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Shears.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shears 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 Shears

The surname SHEARS is of English origin, derived from an occupational name for a person who sheared or cut cloth, a shearer. It is derived from the Old English 'sceran', meaning to cut or shear. The name can be traced back to the 13th century, with some of the earliest recorded instances found in medieval tax rolls and manorial records.

In the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1279, there is a record of a William le Shearere. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296 mention a William Shere. These early spellings highlight the variations in the name's spelling over time, reflecting regional dialects and scribal interpretations.

The SHEARS surname is also associated with the village of Sheers in Staffordshire, which may have influenced the name's development in certain areas. Records from the 14th century refer to individuals from this location, such as John de Sheres, mentioned in the Wills at Chester from 1392.

Notable individuals bearing the SHEARS surname include:

1. Robert Shears (c. 1510-1577), an English churchman who served as the Archdeacon of Berkshire from 1567 until his death.
2. William Shears (1590-1668), an English clergyman and religious writer who authored several works, including "A Treatise on the Second Coming of Christ" (1649).
3. John Shears (1678-1754), a British merchant and philanthropist who established the Shears Charity School in Dorset in 1723.
4. Benjamin Shears (1768-1834), an English engraver and painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
5. Elizabeth Shears (1815-1892), a British naturalist and writer who published several books on botany and natural history in the mid-19th century.

The SHEARS surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Sheers Green in Buckinghamshire, Shears Bridge in Worcestershire, and Shears Mill in Somerset, reflecting the widespread distribution of the name across different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shears

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

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

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

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