Find out how popular the last name Shelp is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Shelp.
An English surname derived from a German occupational term for a maker of wooden bowls or plates.
Shelp, 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 Shelp surname is from the 2010 census data.
Shelp is the 42163rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Shelp surname appeared 515 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Shelp.
We can also compare 2010 data for Shelp 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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 42163 | 42677 | -1.21% |
Count | 515 | 478 | 7.45% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.17 | 0.18 | -5.71% |
The surname SHELP originated in Germany, likely in the early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "schelf," meaning "slanted" or "crooked," and may have been a descriptive nickname for someone with a physical characteristic or occupation related to this word.
Early records of the name are scarce, but it is known to have been present in various regions of Germany during the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest documented instances is found in a 1567 church record from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which mentions a Christoph SHELP.
In the 18th century, the name began to spread more widely across German-speaking areas. Notable individuals from this period include Johann SHELP (1712-1789), a prominent clockmaker from Nuremberg, and Catharina SHELP (1726-1802), a renowned weaver from the town of Göttingen.
As the SHELP family line continued to grow, some members emigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One such person was Hans SHELP (1803-1872), who left Germany in the 1840s and settled in Pennsylvania, where he worked as a farmer.
In the late 19th century, the name appeared in various historical records across Europe. For example, a Gustav SHELP (1856-1923) was a respected architect in Berlin, responsible for designing several notable buildings in the city.
Other notable individuals with the surname SHELP include Elise SHELP (1879-1942), a German-born artist who gained recognition for her landscape paintings, and Heinrich SHELP (1901-1968), a German linguist and scholar of ancient languages.
While the surname SHELP is not among the most common worldwide, it has a rich history dating back several centuries and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artisans, intellectuals, and creative professionals.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Shelp.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Shelp was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 94.37% | 486 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.00% | 0 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 2.33% | 12 |
Hispanic Origin | 2.72% | 14 |
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 Shelp has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 94.37% | 93.72% | 0.69% |
Black | (S)% | 1.26% | (S)% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.00% | (S)% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Two or More Races | 2.33% | 1.46% | 45.91% |
Hispanic | 2.72% | 2.30% | 16.73% |
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 Shelp was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Shelp, please contact us.
We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.
If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!
<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/shelp-surname-popularity/">Shelp last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Shelp last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 18, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/shelp-surname-popularity/.
"Shelp last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/shelp-surname-popularity/. Accessed 18 May, 2025
Shelp last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/shelp-surname-popularity/.
Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.
Simple as that.