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

Shoemaker, 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 Shoemaker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shoemaker in America

Shoemaker is the 1133rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shoemaker surname appeared 30,934 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Shoemaker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shoemaker 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 Shoemaker

The surname SHOEMAKER is an occupational surname that originated in England during the medieval period. It derives from the Old English words "scoe" meaning shoe and "maker" meaning maker or creator. The name refers to an individual whose occupation was making shoes, which was a vital trade during those times.

In the early days, SHOEMAKER was often spelled differently, such as SHOEMAKER, SHOEMAKER, or SHOOMAKER, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation of the time. The name first appeared in historical records in the late 13th century, with one of the earliest known references being in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a William le Shoemaker was mentioned.

The SHOEMAKER surname was particularly prominent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk, where many families with this occupation lived and worked. One notable early bearer of the name was John Shoemaker, a shoemaker from London who was mentioned in the city's records in 1375.

As time passed, the SHOEMAKER surname spread across England and eventually to other parts of the British Isles and beyond. In the late 16th century, a SHOEMAKER family settled in the town of Germantown, Pennsylvania, in the American colonies, becoming one of the earliest bearers of the name in the New World.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the SHOEMAKER surname. One of the earliest was Sir Roger Shoemaker, a prominent English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers, who lived in the 15th century. Another was Benjamin Shoemaker (1672-1737), a Quaker leader and early settler in Pennsylvania who played a significant role in the development of the colony.

Other notable SHOEMAKERS include Joseph Shoemaker (1819-1886), an American Civil War general; Samuel M. Shoemaker (1893-1963), an influential American Episcopal priest and writer; and Henry W. Shoemaker (1880-1958), an American businessman and politician who served as the United States Secretary of War from 1921 to 1924.

The SHOEMAKER surname has a rich history deeply rooted in the ancient craft of shoemaking, and its bearers have left their mark across various fields throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shoemaker

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

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

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

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