2000
#1,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,983
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.04
Uncommon Last name
Sheffield
A locational surname referring to someone from Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, known for metalworking.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,269 Americans carry the last name Sheffield. That puts it at #1,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,115 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sheffield 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 Sheffield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,115
Census rank
#1,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,548 bearers of the surname Sheffield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheffield, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sheffield
The surname Sheffield is of English origin and can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. It is a territorial name derived from the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The name is thought to have originated from the Old English words "sceaf" meaning boundary or ridge, and "feld" meaning field or clearing.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Sheffield can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Scafeld" and "Sidefelde." This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 11th century.
During the medieval period, several individuals with the surname Sheffield can be found in historical records. One notable example is Sir Robert Sheffield, who fought alongside King Edward III at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 15th century, Edmund Sheffield (c. 1415-1487) served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire and was a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses. His descendants would later become members of the English nobility, with the title of Duke of Buckingham and Normanby.
Another notable figure was John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave (1648-1722), who was a prominent English statesman and poet. He served as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council under King William III and Queen Anne.
In the 18th century, John Baker Holroyd (1735-1821), who later took the surname Sheffield after inheriting his uncle's estates, was a renowned writer and literary critic. He is best known for his work "Observations on the Resurrection" and his close friendship with Samuel Johnson.
During the 19th century, Sir Robert Sheffield, 1st Baronet (1804-1888) was an English industrialist and politician who was involved in the development of the Sheffield steel industry and served as a Member of Parliament.
While the surname Sheffield is primarily associated with England, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and intermarriage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheffield
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheffield, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sheffield 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 Sheffield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.4% · 13,614
- Black or African American17.9% · 3,322
- Two or more races4.4% · 818
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 577
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 105
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sheffield
Sheffield 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
#1,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,738
+755 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 6.69
Rank movement Down 87 places
2020
#1,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,548
-1,190 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 6.21
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,730 | 18,983 | 7.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,817 | 19,738 | 6.69 | +755 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 87 places |
| 2020 | #1,900 | 18,548 | 6.21 | -1,190 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 83 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 Sheffield 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 | #1,817 | #1,900 | -4.6% |
| Count | 19,738 | 18,548 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.69 | 6.21 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sheffield bearers went from 19,738 to 18,548 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,817 to #1,900.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sheffield
FAQ
Sheffield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sheffield?
Name Census estimates that about 21,269 living Americans carry the surname Sheffield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,115 residents.
How common is Sheffield?
Sheffield ranks #1,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.21 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 18,548 people with the surname Sheffield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,269), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.21 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 Sheffield.
Has Sheffield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sheffield went from 19,738 recorded bearers to 18,548. That is a decrease of 1,190 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,817 to #1,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Sheffield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheffield, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Sheffield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.4% (13,614 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sheffield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.4%), Black (17.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Sheffield (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 Sheffield mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, known for metalworking. 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 Sheffield (6.21 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 Sheffield?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.