2000
#8,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,577
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Shears
An occupational surname referring to someone who shears sheep or uses shears as a tool in their trade.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,001 Americans carry the last name Shears. That puts it at #8,998 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,667 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shears 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 Shears with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 85,667
Census rank
#8,998
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,489 bearers of the surname Shears in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8998th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shears, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Hispanic (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shears
Among Census respondents with the surname Shears, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Hispanic (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Shears 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 Shears surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.5% · 1,936
- Black or African American33.8% · 1,179
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 199
- Two or more races4.2% · 148
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shears
Shears 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
#8,596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,831
+254 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 115 places
2020
#8,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,489
-342 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 402 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,481 | 3,577 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,596 | 3,831 | 1.30 | +254 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 115 places |
| 2020 | #8,998 | 3,489 | 1.17 | -342 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 402 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 Shears 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 | #8,596 | #8,998 | -4.7% |
| Count | 3,831 | 3,489 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.30 | 1.17 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shears bearers went from 3,831 to 3,489 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 402 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,596 to #8,998.
FAQ
Shears surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shears?
Name Census estimates that about 4,001 living Americans carry the surname Shears. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,667 residents.
How common is Shears?
Shears ranks #8,998 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,489 people with the surname Shears. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,001), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Shears.
Has Shears become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shears went from 3,831 recorded bearers to 3,489. That is a decrease of 342 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,596 to #8,998.
What does the Census say about the background of Shears?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shears, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Shears in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.5% (1,936 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shears appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.5%), Black (33.8%), Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Shears (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 Shears mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who shears sheep or uses shears as a tool in their trade. 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 Shears (1.17 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 Shears?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.