2000
#7,174
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.59
Rare Last name
Shouse
An Americanized form of the German surname Schaus, derived from the Middle High German word "schuz," meaning a marksman or archer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,436 Americans carry the last name Shouse. That puts it at #8,200 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,267 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shouse 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
4.4K
1 in 77,267
Census rank
#8,200
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,868 bearers of the surname Shouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8200th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shouse
The surname SHOUSE originated from Germany and dates back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Schauß" or "Schaus," which referred to a person who lived near a dike or embankment. The name likely originated in the coastal regions of northern Germany, where such geographic features were common.
One of the earliest known records of the SHOUSE name can be found in the parish records of the town of Emden, in present-day Lower Saxony, Germany. In 1532, a man named Hans Schauß is mentioned as a resident of the town. This spelling variation, Schauß, is considered to be an early form of the SHOUSE surname.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the SHOUSE name spread throughout various parts of Germany, with families bearing this surname recorded in regions such as Westphalia, Bavaria, and Saxony. One notable individual from this era was Johann SHOUSE, a Lutheran pastor born in 1675 in the town of Erfurt, in modern-day Thuringia.
In the 19th century, many German families, including those with the SHOUSE surname, immigrated to the United States and other countries. One of the earliest recorded SHOUSE immigrants was Jacob SHOUSE, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1803 from the German state of Hesse.
Another prominent figure in the history of the SHOUSE name was William SHOUSE, an American politician and diplomat born in 1868 in Mississippi. He served as a United States Senator from Kansas from 1915 to 1919 and later as the United States Ambassador to Chile from 1933 to 1937.
Other notable individuals with the SHOUSE surname include:
1. Jouett SHOUSE (1879-1942), an American lawyer and politician from Kansas who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Woodrow Wilson.
2. Henri SHOUSE (1926-2008), a French artist and sculptor known for his abstract metal sculptures and paintings.
3. Catherine SHOUSE (born 1962), an American writer and journalist who has authored several books on food and culture.
4. David SHOUSE (born 1957), an American businessman who served as the CEO of the media company Gannett from 2005 to 2011.
While the SHOUSE surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with families bearing this name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Shouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Shouse 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 Shouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 3,453
- Two or more races3.8% · 148
- Black or African American3.1% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shouse
Shouse 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
#7,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,234
-54 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Down 645 places
2020
#8,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,868
-366 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 381 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,174 | 4,288 | 1.59 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,819 | 4,234 | 1.44 | -54 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 645 places |
| 2020 | #8,200 | 3,868 | 1.29 | -366 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 381 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 Shouse 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 | #7,819 | #8,200 | -4.9% |
| Count | 4,234 | 3,868 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.44 | 1.29 | -10.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shouse bearers went from 4,234 to 3,868 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 381 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,819 to #8,200.
FAQ
Shouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shouse?
Name Census estimates that about 4,436 living Americans carry the surname Shouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,267 residents.
How common is Shouse?
Shouse ranks #8,200 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,868 people with the surname Shouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,436), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Shouse.
Has Shouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shouse went from 4,234 recorded bearers to 3,868. That is a decrease of 366 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,819 to #8,200.
What does the Census say about the background of Shouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Black (3.1%). 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 Shouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (3,453 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Black (3.1%). 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 Shouse (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 Shouse mean?
An Americanized form of the German surname Schaus, derived from the Middle High German word "schuz," meaning a marksman or archer. 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 Shouse (1.29 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 Shouse?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Shouse? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.