2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Shottenkirk
A surname of German origin meaning "church of the scouts or foresters".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Shottenkirk. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shottenkirk 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Shottenkirk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shottenkirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shottenkirk
The surname Shottenkirk originates from Germany, with its earliest known use dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the German words "Schotten" meaning "Scots" and "Kirche" meaning "church," suggesting a connection to a church or settlement established by Scottish settlers in Germany.
Records indicate that the name first appeared in the region of Rhineland, where many Scottish missionaries and traders had established communities during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in a 1572 church registry from the town of Cologne, where a Johannes Shottenkirk was listed as a merchant.
In the 17th century, the name gained prominence in the northern German city of Bremen, where a family of Shottenkirks were prominent merchants and shipowners. Hans Shottenkirk, born in 1625, was a notable figure in the city's maritime trade, and his son, Johann Shottenkirk (1662-1738), served as a city councilman.
The Shottenkirk name also has a historical association with the town of Altena, located in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the 18th century, a branch of the family settled in this region, and the name appears in various local records, including the birth of Friedrich Shottenkirk in 1742.
One of the most notable individuals with the Shottenkirk surname was the German philosopher and theologian Wilhelm Shottenkirk (1810-1876). Born in Düsseldorf, he was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of his time and authored several influential works on ethics and metaphysics.
Another notable figure was the historian and academic Ernst Shottenkirk (1885-1962), who taught at the University of Heidelberg and was a leading expert on the medieval history of the Holy Roman Empire.
It is worth noting that while the Shottenkirk name has its roots in Germany, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to immigration. For example, there are records of Shottenkirks in the United States and Canada, likely descendants of German immigrants who arrived in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shottenkirk
Among Census respondents with the surname Shottenkirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shottenkirk 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 Shottenkirk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shottenkirk
Shottenkirk 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+3 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,961 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-6 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,701 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 5,961 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 7,701 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 Shottenkirk 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 | #137,327 | #145,028 | -5.6% |
| Count | 122 | 116 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shottenkirk bearers went from 122 to 116 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 7,701 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #145,028.
FAQ
Shottenkirk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shottenkirk?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Shottenkirk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Shottenkirk?
Shottenkirk ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Shottenkirk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Shottenkirk.
Has Shottenkirk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shottenkirk went from 122 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Shottenkirk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shottenkirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Shottenkirk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shottenkirk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Shottenkirk (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 Shottenkirk mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "church of the scouts or foresters". 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 Shottenkirk (0.04 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 share the surname Shottenkirk?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.