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

Shipp, 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 Shipp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shipp in America

Shipp is the 3219th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shipp surname appeared 11,217 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Shipp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shipp 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 Shipp

The surname SHIPP is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word "scip" or "sceap", meaning a sheep, or possibly from the Old English word "scippen", meaning a shipper or sailor. It originated in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England during the medieval period.

SHIPP is believed to have first appeared in written records in the late 11th century Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners and tenants conducted by William the Conqueror after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. The Domesday Book listed several individuals with the name, including a Shipp family living in Norfolk.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname SHIPP can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mentioned a Robert Shipp. Another early record is from the Curia Regis Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1212, which listed a William Shipp.

In the 14th century, there are records of a John Shipp who was a member of the guild of shearmen, or wool-shearers, in the city of Norwich in 1379. This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with the wool trade or the raising of sheep.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname SHIPP appeared in various records across England, including in the parish registers of St. Giles in London, where a Robert Shipp was baptized in 1597. Another notable individual was William Shipp, a merchant from Bristol who was granted a coat of arms in 1614.

In the 18th century, there are records of a John Shipp who was a prominent clockmaker in London, born around 1735. He was known for creating high-quality longcase clocks and was elected as a Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in 1781.

Other notable individuals with the surname SHIPP include John Shipp (1784-1834), an English inventor and engineer who designed and constructed several early steam engines and locomotives, and Barnett Shipp (1785-1837), an English artist and engraver known for his topographical prints and illustrations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shipp

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

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

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

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