2000
#3,510
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,310
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.45
Uncommon Last name
Shull
Derived from a place name meaning "at the skull-shaped hill" in Old English or German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,260 Americans carry the last name Shull. That puts it at #3,863 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,407 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shull 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
10K
1 in 33,407
Census rank
#3,863
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,947 bearers of the surname Shull in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3863rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shull, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shull
The surname SHULL has its origins in Germany, with its earliest recorded usage dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old High German word "schuole," which translates to "school" or "place of learning." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked at or lived near a school.
One of the earliest known records of the name SHULL can be found in the town of Schullendorf, located in what is now the state of Brandenburg, Germany. The name is believed to have originated in this region, with various spellings such as "Schulle," "Schuller," and "Schueler" being used interchangeably.
In the 17th century, the name SHULL began to appear in various records across Germany, including church registers and tax rolls. One notable example is Johann Michael Shull, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1638 to 1690.
As the centuries passed, the SHULL name spread beyond Germany, with families bearing this surname migrating to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is that of Jacob Shull, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1726 and served as a soldier during the American Revolutionary War.
Another prominent individual with the SHULL surname was George W. Shull, an American botanist and geneticist who lived from 1879 to 1971. He is best known for his pioneering work in the field of plant genetics and for introducing the concept of hybrid vigor, also known as heterosis.
In the 20th century, the name SHULL gained further recognition through individuals such as John Shull, an American actor and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Throughout its history, the surname SHULL has also been associated with various place names, such as Shullsburg, a city in Wisconsin, and Shull's Mill, a historic grist mill located in Pennsylvania. These place names reflect the widespread distribution of families bearing this surname across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shull
Among Census respondents with the surname Shull, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Shull 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 Shull surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 8,187
- Two or more races3.5% · 311
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 281
- Black or African American0.8% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shull
Shull 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
#3,710
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,565
+255 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 3.24
Rank movement Down 200 places
2020
#3,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,947
-618 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 153 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,510 | 9,310 | 3.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,710 | 9,565 | 3.24 | +255 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 200 places |
| 2020 | #3,863 | 8,947 | 2.99 | -618 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 153 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 Shull 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 | #3,710 | #3,863 | -4.1% |
| Count | 9,565 | 8,947 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.24 | 2.99 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shull bearers went from 9,565 to 8,947 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 153 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,710 to #3,863.
FAQ
Shull surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shull?
Name Census estimates that about 10,260 living Americans carry the surname Shull. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,407 residents.
How common is Shull?
Shull ranks #3,863 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,947 people with the surname Shull. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,260), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Shull.
Has Shull become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shull went from 9,565 recorded bearers to 8,947. That is a decrease of 618 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,710 to #3,863.
What does the Census say about the background of Shull?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shull, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (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 Shull in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (8,187 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shull appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (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 Shull (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 Shull mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "at the skull-shaped hill" in Old English or German. 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 Shull (2.99 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 Shull?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.