2000
#32,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 677
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Shill
A derogatory term for someone who deliberately promotes something for pay or reward.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 866 Americans carry the last name Shill. That puts it at #32,616 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 395,790 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shill 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 Shill with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
866
1 in 395,790
Census rank
#32,616
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
755
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 755 bearers of the surname Shill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 32616th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shill, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Hispanic (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shill
The surname "SHILL" originated in England during the medieval period, deriving from the Old English word "scill" or "scyll," meaning "shrill" or "loud." It was likely given as a nickname to someone with a distinctive, piercing voice or a loud manner of speaking.
The earliest recorded mention of the surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire from 1273, where it appears as "Schille." This suggests the name was already established in the region by the 13th century.
In the early 14th century, the surname appears in various forms, including "Shille" and "Shylle," in tax records and court rolls from counties such as Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Cambridgeshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Shille, a landowner mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
The surname is also found in the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, recorded as "Scill" and "Scilla," indicating its ancient roots in England.
Notable individuals with the surname "SHILL" throughout history include:
1. William Shill (c. 1550-1622), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk.
2. Thomas Shill (1679-1744), a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Bridgnorth from 1722 to 1727.
3. Elizabeth Shill (1797-1873), an English poet and writer known for her contributions to periodicals and literary magazines in the 19th century.
4. John Shill (1831-1905), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including St. Saviour's Church in Fitzroy Square.
5. William Shill (1870-1942), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.
The surname "SHILL" has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Shillingham in Norfolk and Shillbrook in Oxfordshire, further reflecting its deep-rooted history in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shill
Among Census respondents with the surname Shill, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Hispanic (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Shill 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 Shill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 605
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 45
- Two or more races4.6% · 35
- Black or African American2.8% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shill
Shill 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
#34,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 649
-28 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 2,672 places
2020
#32,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 755
+106 bearers (+16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 2,185 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #32,129 | 677 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #34,801 | 649 | 0.22 | -28 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 2,672 places |
| 2020 | #32,616 | 755 | 0.25 | +106 bearers (+16.3%) | Up 2,185 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 Shill 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 | #34,801 | #32,616 | 6.3% |
| Count | 649 | 755 | 16.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.25 | 14.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shill bearers went from 649 to 755 (+16.3% change). The surname moved up 2,185 positions in the national ranking, going from #34,801 to #32,616.
FAQ
Shill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shill?
Name Census estimates that about 866 living Americans carry the surname Shill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 395,790 residents.
How common is Shill?
Shill ranks #32,616 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 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 755 people with the surname Shill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (866), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 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 Shill.
Has Shill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shill went from 649 recorded bearers to 755. That is an increase of 106 (+16.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #34,801 to #32,616.
What does the Census say about the background of Shill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shill, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Shill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (605 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.4%), Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Shill (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 Shill mean?
A derogatory term for someone who deliberately promotes something for pay or reward. 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 Shill (0.25 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 share the surname Shill?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.