2000
#7,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,019
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Shults
Derived from the German surname Schultz or Schulz, referring to the occupation of a village headman or constable.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,625 Americans carry the last name Shults. That puts it at #7,894 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,109 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shults 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
4.6K
1 in 74,109
Census rank
#7,894
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,033 bearers of the surname Shults in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7894th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shults, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shults
The surname Shults has its origins in Germany, where it is believed to have first emerged in the late 15th century. It is likely derived from the German word "Schultheiß," which referred to a local official or magistrate responsible for administering justice and collecting taxes in medieval times.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Schultheiss," "Schultze," and "Schultz" in various regions of Germany. These variations reflect the different dialects and spelling conventions of the time. The name eventually evolved into its modern form of "Shults" as it spread to other parts of Europe and beyond.
One of the earliest known records of the name dates back to 1495, when a man named Hans Schultheiß was mentioned in a legal document from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria. Another notable early reference is found in the 1555 census records of the city of Nuremberg, which list several families with the surname Schultz or Schultze.
As the name spread across Europe, it also became associated with certain place names. For instance, the village of Schulzendorf in Brandenburg, Germany, is believed to have been named after an early settler with the surname Schulz or Schulze.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Shults or its variants. One of the earliest was Johann Schultz (1594-1668), a German astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of comets and planetary motion.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Schultze (1795-1865) was a prominent German chemist who developed several important industrial processes, including a method for producing nitrocellulose, a key component in the production of gunpowder and early plastics.
Another noteworthy figure was the American composer and music educator William Schultze (1903-1964), who was known for his choral works and served as the director of the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts.
In more recent times, the name has been associated with individuals like Randall "Randy" Shults (born 1953), an American airline pilot who gained recognition for his skilled handling of an emergency landing in 2018 after an engine failure on a Southwest Airlines flight.
Finally, one cannot overlook the contributions of Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000), the acclaimed American cartoonist and creator of the iconic comic strip "Peanuts," featuring beloved characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shults
Among Census respondents with the surname Shults, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Shults 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 Shults surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 3,688
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 140
- Two or more races3.0% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 33
- Black or African American0.8% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shults
Shults 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
#7,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,146
+127 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Down 348 places
2020
#7,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,033
-113 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Up 81 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,627 | 4,019 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,975 | 4,146 | 1.41 | +127 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 348 places |
| 2020 | #7,894 | 4,033 | 1.35 | -113 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 81 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 Shults 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 | #7,975 | #7,894 | 1.0% |
| Count | 4,146 | 4,033 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.35 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shults bearers went from 4,146 to 4,033 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 81 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,975 to #7,894.
FAQ
Shults surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shults?
Name Census estimates that about 4,625 living Americans carry the surname Shults. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,109 residents.
How common is Shults?
Shults ranks #7,894 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,033 people with the surname Shults. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,625), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Shults.
Has Shults become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shults went from 4,146 recorded bearers to 4,033. That is a decrease of 113 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,975 to #7,894.
What does the Census say about the background of Shults?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shults, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Shults in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (3,688 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shults appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Shults (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 Shults mean?
Derived from the German surname Schultz or Schulz, referring to the occupation of a village headman or constable. 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 Shults (1.35 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 Shults?
You can see how many people have the last name Shults on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.