Find out how popular the last name Shieh is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Shieh.

Shieh, 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 Shieh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shieh in America

Shieh is the 21736th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shieh surname appeared 1,197 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 Shieh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shieh 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.

The history of the last name Shieh

The surname SHIEH originated in China, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The name is derived from the Chinese word "xie," which means "scorpion" or "crab." It is believed that the name may have been given to families who lived in areas with a high concentration of these creatures or perhaps had some association with them.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the SHIEH surname gained prominence, with several notable individuals bearing this name. One such person was SHIEH Qingyi (998-1062), a renowned poet and calligrapher who served as a court official under Emperor Renzong.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the SHIEH surname was well-represented among the gentry class. SHIEH Xingfa (1416-1493) was a prominent scholar-official who wrote extensively on Confucian ethics and philosophy.

The SHIEH surname also has connections to various place names in China. For instance, the town of Xiezhou (literally "Scorpion Prefecture") in Shandong Province is said to have derived its name from the SHIEH surname.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the SHIEH surname outside of China can be found in the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) of Vietnam. SHIEH Yu (1823-1897), a Chinese immigrant, became a prominent figure in the imperial court and served as a military advisor to Emperor Minh Mang.

In more recent history, the SHIEH surname has been carried by several notable figures, including SHIEH Lien-sheng (1904-2009), a renowned Chinese-American historian who specialized in the study of ancient Chinese history and culture. Another notable bearer of the name was SHIEH Teng-hui (1923-2020), a former President of Taiwan who served from 1988 to 2000.

Throughout its long history, the SHIEH surname has been associated with scholars, officials, and individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, reflecting the diverse range of backgrounds and accomplishments of those who bear this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shieh

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Shieh.

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Shieh was:

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 Shieh has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

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 Shieh was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Shieh, please contact us.

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