2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Shiga
A Japanese surname referring to a former province or locality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Shiga. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shiga 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Shiga in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shiga, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.2%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Two or More Races (11.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shiga
The surname SHIGA has its origins in Japan, and the earliest records of this name date back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the region of Shiga Prefecture, located in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu. The name SHIGA is thought to be derived from the Japanese word "shiga," which means "crystalline" or "clear."
One of the earliest recorded bearers of this surname was a renowned samurai warrior named Shiga Nobuyuki, who lived during the late 16th century. He served under the powerful Tokugawa shogunate and played a significant role in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which was a pivotal conflict that ushered in the Edo period of Japan.
Another notable figure with the surname SHIGA was the Japanese bacteriologist Kiyoshi Shiga, who was born in 1870 and passed away in 1957. He is renowned for his groundbreaking work in identifying the Shiga toxin, a potent bacterial toxin responsible for causing severe food poisoning and dysentery.
In the literary realm, the surname SHIGA was borne by the acclaimed Japanese novelist and essayist Naoya Shiga, born in 1883 and died in 1971. He is considered a pioneering figure in the Japanese literary movement known as "shishosetsu," which focused on semi-autobiographical fiction.
The name SHIGA is also associated with the city of Otsu, located in Shiga Prefecture. This city was formerly known as "Shiga" during the Heian period (794-1185 CE) and was an important political and cultural center in ancient Japan.
Another prominent bearer of the SHIGA surname was the Japanese painter and printmaker Kōshirō Shiga, who lived from 1869 to 1965. He was a renowned artist in the Nihonga style, which combines traditional Japanese techniques with Western-influenced compositions.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the surname SHIGA, a name with deep roots in Japan's cultural and historical landscape.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shiga
Among Census respondents with the surname Shiga, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.2%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Two or More Races (11.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Shiga 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 Shiga surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander71.2% · 84
- White11.9% · 14
- Two or more races11.9% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shiga
Shiga 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
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,403 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 1,403 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 Shiga 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 | #142,108 | #143,511 | -1.0% |
| Count | 117 | 118 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shiga bearers went from 117 to 118 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,403 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #143,511.
FAQ
Shiga surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shiga?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Shiga. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Shiga?
Shiga ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 118 people with the surname Shiga. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Shiga.
Has Shiga become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shiga went from 117 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Shiga?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shiga, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.2%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Two or More Races (11.9%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shiga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.2% (84 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shiga appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (71.2%), White (11.9%), Two or More Races (11.9%). 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 Shiga (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 Shiga mean?
A Japanese surname referring to a former province or locality. 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 Shiga (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Shiga?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.