2000
#7,779
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,938
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Shoemake
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes shoes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,071 Americans carry the last name Shoemake. That puts it at #8,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,194 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shoemake 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
4.1K
1 in 84,194
Census rank
#8,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,550 bearers of the surname Shoemake in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shoemake, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shoemake
The surname Shoemake has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is an occupational surname, derived from the Old English words "sco" (shoe) and "maca" (maker), indicating that the bearer's ancestors were involved in the shoemaking trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1279, which mentions a John le Shomakere. This spelling variation highlights the fluidity of surnames during that era.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, where a Robert Shomakere was listed in 1327. This record provides evidence of the name's prevalence in different regions of England.
The Shoemake surname is also connected to various place names in England. For instance, the village of Shoemakers in Oxfordshire likely derived its name from the presence of shoemakers in the area.
Notable individuals with the surname Shoemake include William Shoemake, a merchant from Exeter who was involved in the wool trade in the late 15th century. Another prominent figure was John Shoemake, a Puritan minister who immigrated to New England in the 17th century and served as the pastor of the First Church in Taunton, Massachusetts, from 1669 to 1687.
In the 18th century, Thomas Shoemake (1718-1799) was a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He is remembered for his role in the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781.
The 19th century saw the rise of Jonathan Shoemake (1826-1897), an American politician who served as a member of the Mississippi State Senate and was a prominent figure in the Reconstruction era.
Furthermore, the name Shoemake has been associated with various literary figures, including the English poet and playwright Robert Shoemake (1589-1647) and the American author and journalist Charles Shoemake (1858-1928).
While the Shoemake surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, carried by the descendants of early immigrants and settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shoemake
Among Census respondents with the surname Shoemake, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Shoemake 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 Shoemake surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.9% · 2,908
- Two or more races5.7% · 203
- Black or African American4.3% · 151
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 146
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shoemake
Shoemake 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
#7,870
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,205
+267 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 91 places
2020
#8,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,550
-655 bearers (-15.6%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 986 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,779 | 3,938 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,870 | 4,205 | 1.43 | +267 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 91 places |
| 2020 | #8,856 | 3,550 | 1.19 | -655 bearers (-15.6%) | Down 986 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 Shoemake 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 | #7,870 | #8,856 | -12.5% |
| Count | 4,205 | 3,550 | -15.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.19 | -16.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shoemake bearers went from 4,205 to 3,550 (-15.6% change). The surname moved down 986 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,870 to #8,856.
FAQ
Shoemake surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shoemake?
Name Census estimates that about 4,071 living Americans carry the surname Shoemake. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,194 residents.
How common is Shoemake?
Shoemake ranks #8,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 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 3,550 people with the surname Shoemake. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,071), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 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 Shoemake.
Has Shoemake become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shoemake went from 4,205 recorded bearers to 3,550. That is a decrease of 655 (-15.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,870 to #8,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Shoemake?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shoemake, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (4.3%). 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 Shoemake in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (2,908 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shoemake appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.9%), Two or More Races (5.7%), Black (4.3%). 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 Shoemake (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 Shoemake mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes shoes. 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 Shoemake (1.19 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 people are called Shoemake?
Want to know how common the surname Shoemake is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.