2000
#11,121
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,618
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Shipe
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of ships or boats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,723 Americans carry the last name Shipe. That puts it at #12,471 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shipe 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
2.7K
1 in 125,874
Census rank
#12,471
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,375 bearers of the surname Shipe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12471st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shipe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shipe
The surname SHIPE has its roots in Germany, where it originated as a variation of the German word "Schiffer," meaning "boatman" or "sailor." This occupational surname likely emerged in the late medieval period, when many surnames began to derive from professions or trades.
The earliest recorded instances of the SHIPE surname date back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. Historical records from this era often featured spellings like "Schipper" or "Schypper," which eventually evolved into the modern form of SHIPE.
One notable early bearer of the SHIPE name was Johannes Schipper, a merchant and ship owner from Lübeck, who lived in the late 15th century. His involvement in maritime trade likely contributed to the association of the name with seafaring occupations.
In the 16th century, the SHIPE surname spread beyond Germany as individuals emigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. Hans Shippe, born in 1534 in Cologne, was among the earliest recorded settlers with this surname in the New World, arriving in Pennsylvania in the late 1600s.
Another prominent figure with the SHIPE surname was Sir Edward Shipe, an English naval officer who lived from 1618 to 1687. He played a significant role in several naval battles during the Anglo-Dutch Wars and was knighted for his service to the Crown.
In the 18th century, John Shipe (1708-1778) was a notable American farmer and landowner in Virginia. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the United States, contributing to the spread of the SHIPE surname across the country.
The SHIPE name has also been associated with several places, particularly in Germany. For instance, Schippenstadt, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, is believed to have derived its name from the German word "Schipper," further reinforcing the connection between the surname and maritime occupations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shipe
Among Census respondents with the surname Shipe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Shipe 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 Shipe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,156
- Two or more races4.0% · 96
- Black or African American2.3% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shipe
Shipe 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
#12,115
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,573
-45 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 994 places
2020
#12,471
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,375
-198 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 356 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,121 | 2,618 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,115 | 2,573 | 0.87 | -45 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 994 places |
| 2020 | #12,471 | 2,375 | 0.79 | -198 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 356 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 Shipe 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 | #12,115 | #12,471 | -2.9% |
| Count | 2,573 | 2,375 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.79 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shipe bearers went from 2,573 to 2,375 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 356 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,115 to #12,471.
FAQ
Shipe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shipe?
Name Census estimates that about 2,723 living Americans carry the surname Shipe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,874 residents.
How common is Shipe?
Shipe ranks #12,471 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,375 people with the surname Shipe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,723), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Shipe.
Has Shipe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shipe went from 2,573 recorded bearers to 2,375. That is a decrease of 198 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,115 to #12,471.
What does the Census say about the background of Shipe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shipe, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (2.3%). 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 Shipe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,156 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shipe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Black (2.3%). 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 Shipe (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 Shipe mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of ships or boats. 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 Shipe (0.79 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 common is the surname Shipe?
Want to know how many people are called Shipe? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.