2000
#2,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,231
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.16
Uncommon Last name
Shipp
An occupational surname referring to a shipwright, a person who builds or repairs ships.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,398 Americans carry the last name Shipp. That puts it at #3,259 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,646 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shipp 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 Shipp with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 27,646
Census rank
#3,259
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,812 bearers of the surname Shipp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3259th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shipp, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shipp
Among Census respondents with the surname Shipp, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shipp 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 Shipp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.6% · 7,200
- Black or African American23.9% · 2,586
- Two or more races4.4% · 480
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 407
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 61
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shipp
Shipp 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
#3,219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,217
-14 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 3.80
Rank movement Down 275 places
2020
#3,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,812
-405 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 3.62
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,944 | 11,231 | 4.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,219 | 11,217 | 3.80 | -14 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 275 places |
| 2020 | #3,259 | 10,812 | 3.62 | -405 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 40 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 Shipp 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 | #3,219 | #3,259 | -1.2% |
| Count | 11,217 | 10,812 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.80 | 3.62 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shipp bearers went from 11,217 to 10,812 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,219 to #3,259.
FAQ
Shipp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shipp?
Name Census estimates that about 12,398 living Americans carry the surname Shipp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,646 residents.
How common is Shipp?
Shipp ranks #3,259 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,812 people with the surname Shipp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,398), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Shipp.
Has Shipp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shipp went from 11,217 recorded bearers to 10,812. That is a decrease of 405 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,219 to #3,259.
What does the Census say about the background of Shipp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shipp, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Shipp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.6% (7,200 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shipp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.6%), Black (23.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Shipp (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 Shipp mean?
An occupational surname referring to a shipwright, a person who builds or repairs ships. 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 Shipp (3.62 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 Shipp?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.