2000
#1,233
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.68
Uncommon Last name
Sheehan
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Síocháin, meaning "descendant of Síochán," derived from síochán, meaning "peace."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,694 Americans carry the last name Sheehan. That puts it at #1,331 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,543 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sheehan 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 Sheehan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
30K
1 in 11,543
Census rank
#1,331
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
26K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,895 bearers of the surname Sheehan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1331st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheehan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sheehan
The surname Sheehan is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name Siodhcháin, meaning "peaceful." It first appeared in the Munster region of Ireland, particularly in County Cork and County Kerry.
The name can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was recorded as O'Sheehan, indicating a patronymic surname meaning "descendant of Sheehan." The prefix "O'" denoted a grandson or descendant in the Irish naming system.
In ancient Irish manuscripts, the name appears as O'Siocháin, O'Shehyn, and O'Sheehan. These variations emerged due to the challenges of transliterating Gaelic names into English during the anglicization of Irish surnames in the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it mentions an O'Sheehan chieftain named Donnchadh O'Siocháin in the year 1172.
Notable individuals with the surname Sheehan include:
1. Jeremiah Sheehan (1818-1882), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate.
2. William Francis Sheehan (1859-1917), an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1907 to 1910.
3. Denny Sheehan (1904-1982), an Irish Gaelic football player who captained the Kerry senior football team and won three All-Ireland medals.
4. Patty Sheehan (born 1956), an American professional golfer who won six major championships on the LPGA Tour between 1983 and 1994.
5. Bill Sheehan (1937-2014), an American basketball player and coach who led the University of Hartford to the NCAA Division II championship in 1977.
The Sheehan name is also associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Sheehanville, a village in County Limerick, and Sheehaneennabro, a townland in County Kerry, reflecting the historical presence of the family in these areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheehan
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheehan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sheehan 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 Sheehan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 23,922
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 869
- Two or more races2.7% · 704
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 255
- Black or African American0.3% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sheehan
Sheehan 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
#1,305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,902
+795 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 9.12
Rank movement Down 72 places
2020
#1,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,895
-1,007 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 8.66
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,233 | 26,107 | 9.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,305 | 26,902 | 9.12 | +795 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 72 places |
| 2020 | #1,331 | 25,895 | 8.66 | -1,007 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 26 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 Sheehan 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 | #1,305 | #1,331 | -2.0% |
| Count | 26,902 | 25,895 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 9.12 | 8.66 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sheehan bearers went from 26,902 to 25,895 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,305 to #1,331.
FAQ
Sheehan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sheehan?
Name Census estimates that about 29,694 living Americans carry the surname Sheehan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,543 residents.
How common is Sheehan?
Sheehan ranks #1,331 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,895 people with the surname Sheehan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,694), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Sheehan.
Has Sheehan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sheehan went from 26,902 recorded bearers to 25,895. That is a decrease of 1,007 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,305 to #1,331.
What does the Census say about the background of Sheehan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheehan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Sheehan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (23,922 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sheehan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Sheehan (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 Sheehan mean?
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Síocháin, meaning "descendant of Síochán," derived from síochán, meaning "peace." 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 Sheehan (8.66 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 share the surname Sheehan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.