Find out how popular the last name Shives is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Shives.
A variant spelling of the English occupational surname derived from "sheave" referring to one who made sheaves for pulleys.
Shives, 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 Shives surname is from the 2010 census data.
Shives is the 20099th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Shives surname appeared 1,329 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Shives.
We can also compare 2010 data for Shives 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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 20099 | 18701 | 7.21% |
Count | 1,329 | 1,357 | -2.08% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.45 | 0.50 | -10.53% |
The surname SHIVES originated in England in the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "sceafa," which means "sheaf" or "bundle of grain." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who worked with sheaves of grain, perhaps a farmer or agricultural laborer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SHIVES can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where it appears as "William Sheves." The variant spelling "Sheves" suggests that the name may have evolved from an earlier form before settling on the modern "SHIVES."
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name SHIVES began to appear more frequently in parish records throughout various counties in England. Notable examples include John SHIVES, who was born in Derbyshire in 1592, and William SHIVES, baptized in Gloucestershire in 1621.
The name SHIVES is also associated with certain place names, particularly in areas with a strong agricultural history. For instance, the village of Sheviock in Cornwall was once known as "Schevyok," which may have derived from the same Old English root as the surname.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname SHIVES. One such person was Robert SHIVES, a prominent merchant and landowner in Warwickshire during the late 16th century. Another was John SHIVES, a member of the English Parliament who represented the borough of Stafford in the early 18th century.
In the 19th century, the SHIVES name gained further recognition with the birth of William Edward SHIVES (1825-1901), a renowned English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Royal Albert Hall in London.
While the surname SHIVES is not among the most common in England, it has persisted throughout the centuries, with several notable bearers making their mark in various fields, from commerce and politics to architecture and beyond.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Shives.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Shives was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 89.09% | 1,184 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 5.42% | 72 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 1.28% | 17 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.38% | 5 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.50% | 20 |
Hispanic Origin | 2.33% | 31 |
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 Shives has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 89.09% | 92.19% | -3.42% |
Black | 5.42% | 4.27% | 23.74% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.28% | (S)% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.38% | (S)% | (S)% |
Two or More Races | 1.50% | 1.40% | 6.90% |
Hispanic | 2.33% | 1.47% | 45.26% |
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 Shives was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/shives-surname-popularity/">Shives last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Shives last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 1, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/shives-surname-popularity/.
"Shives last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/shives-surname-popularity/. Accessed 1 July, 2025
Shives last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/shives-surname-popularity/.
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