2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sheppeck
An occupational surname possibly derived from 'shepherd'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Sheppeck. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sheppeck 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.
Bearers in the US
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Sheppeck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheppeck, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sheppeck
The surname Sheppeck is of English origin, emerging in the medieval period around the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "sceap" meaning sheep and "pec" meaning a small stream or brook, suggesting that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a brook where sheep gathered or grazed.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where a Richard Sheppeck is listed. This indicates that the name was already well-established in that region by the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, variations such as Sheppyke and Sheppyck can be found in historical records from counties like Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. These slight spelling variations were common in those times due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.
The Sheppeck name is also found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landholdings and populations in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This entry suggests that the name has Anglo-Saxon roots predating the Norman Conquest.
Notable individuals bearing the Sheppeck surname include:
1. William Sheppeck (c.1510-1575), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol, England during the 16th century.
2. Robert Sheppeck (1592-1658), an English clergyman and author who published several religious texts in the 1600s.
3. Elizabeth Sheppeck (1674-1732), a landowner and philanthropist from Warwickshire, known for her generous donations to local churches and schools.
4. Thomas Sheppeck (1765-1829), a British soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario).
5. Mary Sheppeck (1820-1901), a pioneering educator and headmistress of one of the first girls' schools in Melbourne, Australia during the mid-19th century.
The name Sheppeck has also been associated with various place names over the centuries, such as Sheppeck Green in Gloucestershire and Sheppeck Farm in Devon, further reinforcing its English origins and historical presence across various regions of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheppeck
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheppeck, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sheppeck 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 Sheppeck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sheppeck
Sheppeck appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-11 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 8,017 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -11 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 8,017 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 Sheppeck 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 | #147,253 | #155,270 | -5.4% |
| Count | 112 | 101 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sheppeck bearers went from 112 to 101 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 8,017 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #155,270.
FAQ
Sheppeck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sheppeck?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Sheppeck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Sheppeck?
Sheppeck ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Sheppeck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sheppeck.
Has Sheppeck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sheppeck went from 112 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Sheppeck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheppeck, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Sheppeck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sheppeck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Sheppeck (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 Sheppeck mean?
An occupational surname possibly derived from 'shepherd'. 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 Sheppeck (0.03 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 are called Sheppeck?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Sheppeck is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.