2000
#4,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,017
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Shively
Derived from a place name meaning "swampy pasture" in Old English, likely referring to a person's residence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,652 Americans carry the last name Shively. That puts it at #5,094 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,793 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shively 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
7.7K
1 in 44,793
Census rank
#5,094
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,673 bearers of the surname Shively in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5094th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shively, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shively
The surname Shively is believed to have originated in Germany. It is thought to be a habitational name, derived from a place name meaning "sloping ridge" or "slanting surface." This name likely originated in the 13th or 14th century, and was initially spelled in various ways, such as Schiefel, Schieffle, or Schieffel.
Early recorded examples of the name can be found in medieval German records and documents. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Schieffel, who was born in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in Bavaria, in the late 14th century.
As the name spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions, it evolved into different spellings, including Shively, Shiveley, and Shivley. Over time, some branches of the family anglicized the name to its current spelling of Shively.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Johannes Shively was a prominent Lutheran theologian and author in Saxony. He was born in 1635 and published several influential works on religious doctrine and philosophy.
Another early bearer of the name was Peter Shively, a German immigrant to Pennsylvania in the late 18th century. He settled in York County and established a successful farming community that became known as Shively's Settlement.
In the 19th century, William Shively (1818-1895) was a prominent businessman and industrialist in Ohio. He founded the Shively Foundry, which manufactured agricultural equipment and machinery.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Shively was Elijah Shively (1846-1917), a Union Army veteran and influential politician in Kansas. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1897 to 1899.
While the name has experienced some variations in spelling over the centuries, the core derivation and meaning of Shively have remained consistent, tracing back to its origins as a habitational name in medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shively
Among Census respondents with the surname Shively, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Shively 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 Shively surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 6,088
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 189
- Two or more races2.8% · 188
- Black or African American2.0% · 134
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shively
Shively 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
#5,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,000
-17 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 2.37
Rank movement Down 398 places
2020
#5,094
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,673
-327 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,620 | 7,017 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,018 | 7,000 | 2.37 | -17 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 398 places |
| 2020 | #5,094 | 6,673 | 2.23 | -327 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 76 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 Shively 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 | #5,018 | #5,094 | -1.5% |
| Count | 7,000 | 6,673 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.37 | 2.23 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shively bearers went from 7,000 to 6,673 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,018 to #5,094.
FAQ
Shively surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shively?
Name Census estimates that about 7,652 living Americans carry the surname Shively. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,793 residents.
How common is Shively?
Shively ranks #5,094 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,673 people with the surname Shively. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Shively.
Has Shively become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shively went from 7,000 recorded bearers to 6,673. That is a decrease of 327 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,018 to #5,094.
What does the Census say about the background of Shively?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shively, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Shively in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (6,088 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shively appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Shively (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 Shively mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "swampy pasture" in Old English, likely referring to a person's residence. 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 Shively (2.23 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 Shively?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.