2000
#4,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,342
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.72
Rare Last name
Shores
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near the coast or banks of a body of water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,356 Americans carry the last name Shores. That puts it at #4,714 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,019 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shores 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Shores with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.4K
1 in 41,019
Census rank
#4,714
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,287 bearers of the surname Shores in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4714th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shores, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shores
The surname Shores has its origins in England, dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "scor," meaning a shore or bank, and was likely used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near the shore or coast.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shores can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1195, where a Richard de laShore is mentioned. This suggests that the name was initially used as a locational surname, indicating a person's place of residence.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as de la Shor, de la Shore, and de la Shora, reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. The name was particularly prevalent in the coastal regions of southern England, including counties like Dorset, Hampshire, and Sussex.
The Hundred Rolls of 1273 record a John de la Shure in Wiltshire, while the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset from 1327 mention a Thomas atte Shore, demonstrating the transition from the locational prefix "de la" to the more common "atte" form.
One notable figure bearing the Shores surname was Sir John Shores (c. 1450-1528), a wealthy merchant and influential figure in the city of Bristol during the reign of Henry VII and Henry VIII. He served as Sheriff of Bristol and was instrumental in the construction of the city's famous Frome Gate.
Another prominent individual was Samuel Shores (1641-1696), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Hartley Wespall in Hampshire. He published several works, including a treatise on the Book of Revelation.
In the 18th century, the Shores family had established themselves in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, where William Shores (1721-1798) was a notable landowner and philanthropist, contributing to the construction of schools and almshouses in the village of Easingwold.
The name Shores has also been found in historical records from Scotland, with instances such as Alexander Shores, who was granted land in the Barony of Glenapp in Ayrshire in the late 16th century.
A notable Scottish figure was John Shores (1751-1831), a prominent merchant and shipowner from Aberdeen, who played a significant role in the city's maritime trade during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shores
Among Census respondents with the surname Shores, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Shores 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 Shores surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 6,004
- Black or African American6.5% · 476
- Two or more races5.2% · 381
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 276
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 57
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shores
Shores 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
#4,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,691
+349 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Down 160 places
2020
#4,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,287
-404 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.44
Rank movement Down 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,453 | 7,342 | 2.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,613 | 7,691 | 2.61 | +349 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 160 places |
| 2020 | #4,714 | 7,287 | 2.44 | -404 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 101 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 Shores 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 | #4,613 | #4,714 | -2.2% |
| Count | 7,691 | 7,287 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.61 | 2.44 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shores bearers went from 7,691 to 7,287 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,613 to #4,714.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Shores
FAQ
Shores surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shores?
Name Census estimates that about 8,356 living Americans carry the surname Shores. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,019 residents.
How common is Shores?
Shores ranks #4,714 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.44 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 7,287 people with the surname Shores. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,356), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.44 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 Shores.
Has Shores become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shores went from 7,691 recorded bearers to 7,287. That is a decrease of 404 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,613 to #4,714.
What does the Census say about the background of Shores?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shores, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Shores in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (6,004 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shores appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Black (6.5%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Shores (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 Shores mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near the coast or banks of a body of water. 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 Shores (2.44 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 have the surname Shores?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.