2000
#7,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,277
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.59
Rare Last name
Shope
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of baskets and winnowing fans.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,668 Americans carry the last name Shope. That puts it at #7,814 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,426 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shope 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
4.7K
1 in 73,426
Census rank
#7,814
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,071 bearers of the surname Shope in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7814th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shope, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shope
The surname Shope is believed to have originated in Germany, with roots tracing back to the 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old German word "schop," meaning a barn or a shed, suggesting that the name may have been occupational in nature, referring to someone who worked in or lived near a barn.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shope can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the German state of Anhalt, dating back to the year 1349. This document mentions a certain "Heinrich Schope," indicating the presence of the surname in the region during that time.
In the 15th century, the name Shope appears in various records across different regions of Germany, including the town of Essen in the Ruhr Valley, where a "Johan Shope" is mentioned in a municipal document from 1472.
As the name spread across Europe, variations in spelling emerged, such as Schope, Schoppe, and Shoppe. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation and transcription.
One notable individual bearing the surname Shope was Johann Schope, a German theologian and philosopher born in 1535 in Meissen, Saxony. He studied at the University of Wittenberg and later became a professor at the University of Leipzig, where he taught until his death in 1610.
Another figure of historical significance was William Shope, an American physician and virologist born in 1888 in Pennsylvania. He made significant contributions to the field of virology, particularly in the study of swine influenza and the virus that causes the Shope papilloma, a type of wart found in rabbits, which was named after him.
In the 17th century, the Shope surname found its way to the British Isles, with records indicating the presence of individuals with this name in England and Scotland. One such individual was Robert Shope, a Scottish merchant and trader who lived in the city of Glasgow in the late 1600s.
The 19th century saw the migration of many Shope families to the United States, with some settling in Pennsylvania and others in the Midwestern states. One notable American with the surname Shope was John Shope, a farmer and politician from Ohio, who served as a member of the Ohio State Senate in the 1840s.
Throughout history, the surname Shope has been associated with various occupations, from farmers and merchants to academics and professionals, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and pursuits of those who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shope
Among Census respondents with the surname Shope, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Shope 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 Shope surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 3,765
- Two or more races3.8% · 153
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 27
- Black or African American0.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shope
Shope 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
#7,810
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,239
-38 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Down 614 places
2020
#7,814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,071
-168 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,196 | 4,277 | 1.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,810 | 4,239 | 1.44 | -38 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 614 places |
| 2020 | #7,814 | 4,071 | 1.36 | -168 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 4 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 Shope 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 | #7,810 | #7,814 | -0.1% |
| Count | 4,239 | 4,071 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.44 | 1.36 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shope bearers went from 4,239 to 4,071 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,810 to #7,814.
FAQ
Shope surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shope?
Name Census estimates that about 4,668 living Americans carry the surname Shope. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,426 residents.
How common is Shope?
Shope ranks #7,814 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 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 4,071 people with the surname Shope. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,668), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 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 Shope.
Has Shope become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shope went from 4,239 recorded bearers to 4,071. That is a decrease of 168 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,810 to #7,814.
What does the Census say about the background of Shope?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shope, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Shope in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (3,765 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shope appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Shope (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 Shope mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of baskets and winnowing fans. 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 Shope (1.36 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 common is the surname Shope?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Shope, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.